thought

¹

[thawt]

noun

1. the product of mental activity; that which one thinks.

   a body of thought.

2. a single act or product of thinking; idea or notion.

   to collect one's thoughts.

3. the act or process of thinking; mental activity.

   Thought as well as action wearies us.

   Synonyms: cogitation, reflection, deliberation, rumination, meditation

4. the capacity or faculty of thinking, reasoning, imagining, etc..

   All her thought went into her work.

5. a consideration or reflection.

   Thought of death terrified her.

6. meditation, contemplation, or recollection.

   deep in thought.

7. intention, design, or purpose, especially a half-formed or imperfect intention.

   We had some thought of going.

8. anticipation or expectation.

   I had no thought of seeing you here.

9. consideration, attention, care, or regard.

   She took no thought of her appearance.

10. a judgment, opinion, or belief.

    According to his thought, all violence is evil.

11. the intellectual activity or the ideas, opinions, etc., characteristic of a particular place, class, or time.

    Greek thought.

12. a very small amount; a touch; bit; trifle.

    The steak is a thought underdone.

thought

²

[thawt]

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of think.

thought

/ θɔːt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of think

noun

1. the act or process of thinking; deliberation, meditation, or reflection

2. a concept, opinion, or idea

3. philosophical or intellectual ideas typical of a particular time or place

   German thought in the 19th century

4. application of mental attention; consideration

   he gave the matter some thought

5. purpose or intention

   I have no thought of giving up

6. expectation

   no thought of reward

7. a small amount; trifle

   you could be a thought more enthusiastic

8. kindness or regard

   he has no thought for his widowed mother

Word History and Origins

Origin of thought¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English thoght, Old English (ge)thōht; cognate with Dutch gedachte; akin to thank, think ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of thought¹

Old English thōht; related to Old Frisian thochta, Old Saxon, Old High German githācht

Idioms and Phrases

see food for thought; lost in thought; on second thought; penny for your thoughts; perish the thought; train of thought. Also see under think.

Example Sentences

Then I thought, “Well, I’d better start looking through these photos.”

From Los Angeles Times

At moments where ceasefires were thought likely, al-Hayya, along with the men who were also targeted this afternoon, were only a short distance from the Israeli and American delegations.

From BBC

It's thought likely the targeted Hamas leaders were in the middle of discussing their formal response to the US ideas.

From BBC

“I guess she just thought that that was her ball, because it was in front of her,” Feltwell said.

From Los Angeles Times

It is thought that they washed up on Monday which was around the time of the full moon.

From BBC

Related Words

• anxiety 
• assessment 
• belief 
• concern 
• conclusion 
• dream 
• expectation 
• feeling 
• hope 
• image 
• intention 
• judgment 
• knowledge 
• notion 
• opinion 
• plan 
• prospect 
• theory 
• thinking 
• understanding 

When To Use

Spelling tips for thought

The word thought is hard to spell because it sounds as if it should be spelled [ thawt ]. The combination of letters -ought can be pronounced many different ways (nine to be exact!). How to spell thought: Thinking is hard work. It might make you go "oh! ugh!" (-ough). Add a t to the end and you get thought.