thought
[noun]
Synonyms:
- thinking, brainwork, cogitation, consideration, deliberation, meditation, musing, reflection, rumination
- idea, concept, judgment, notion, opinion, view
- consideration, attention, heed, regard, scrutiny, study
- intention, aim, design, idea, notion, object, plan, purpose
- expectation, anticipation, aspiration, hope, prospect

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Related Words: contemplation, meditation, musing, pondering, rumination

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English Thesaurus: idea, thought, impression, inspiration, brainwave, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. thought¹ /θɔːt $ θɒːt/
the past tense and past participle of think¹

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. thought² S1 W1 noun
[Word Family: noun: thought, thoughtfulness ≠ thoughtlessness; adverb: thoughtfully ≠ thoughtlessly; adjective: thoughtful ≠ thoughtless]
[Language: Old English; Origin: thoht]

1. SOMETHING YOU THINK ABOUT [countable] something that you think of, remember, or realize Synonym : idea:
It’s an interesting thought.
The thought that I might not have a job next year is a bit troubling.

2. IDEAS/OPINIONS thoughts [plural] a person’s ideas or opinions about something:
What are your thoughts, Michael?
thoughts on
Any thoughts on how we should spend the money?

3. CAREFUL CONSIDERATION [uncountable] careful and serious consideration:
With more thought and care this would have been a first-class essay.
give something thought/give thought to something (=think carefully about something)
I’ve been giving your proposal a lot of thought.
Have you given any more thought to going back to school?

4. ACT OF THINKING [uncountable] the act or process of thinking
lost/deep in thought (=thinking so much that you do not notice what is happening around you)
Derek was staring out of the window, lost in thought.
Piaget’s research focused on children’s thought processes (=the way their minds work).

5. CARING ABOUT SOMETHING [uncountable and countable] a feeling of worrying or caring about something
thought for
He went back into the burning building with no thought for his own safety.
Have you no thought for anyone but yourself?
You are always in my thoughts (=used to tell someone that you think and care about them a lot).

6. INTENTION [uncountable and countable] intention or hope of doing something
thought of doing something
I had no thought of gaining any personal advantage.
Lucy gave up all thought of finishing the essay that day.

7. WAY OF THINKING [uncountable] a way of thinking that is typical of a particular group, period of history etc
ancient Greek/feminist/18th-century etc thought
Kant’s ideas had a strong influence on political thought.

8. spare a thought for somebody British English used to tell someone that they should think about someone who is in a worse situation than they are:
Spare a thought for those who don’t have enough to eat.

9. it’s just a thought spoken used to say that what you have just said is only a suggestion and you have not thought about it very much:
It was just a thought, Duncan. I didn’t mean any offence.

10. it’s/that’s a thought! spoken used to say that someone has made a good suggestion:
‘Why don’t you ask Walter?’ ‘That’s a thought! I’ll phone him right away.’

11. don’t give it another thought spoken used to tell someone not to worry after they have told you they are sorry

12. it’s the thought that counts spoken used to say that you are grateful for a gift from someone even though it is small or unimportant
⇒ perish the thought! at perish(3), ⇒ on second thoughts at second¹(8), ⇒ school of thought at school¹(8)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

thought
noun
I. sth that you think
ADJ. comforting, good, happy, pleasant, positive It was a comforting thought that at least her father hadn't suffered. Before going on stage, I breathe deeply and think positive thoughts.
anxious, appalling, awful, bad, black, dark, depressing, disquieting, disturbing, gloomy, negative, sad, sobering, terrible A disturbing thought suddenly struck me.
interesting, intriguing | first, immediate, initial My immediate thought was that he must be joking.
sudden | little | fleeting, passing | conscious | unspoken | waking She occupied all his waking thoughts.
VERB + THOUGHT have, think I've just had a thought (= an idea). He remained aloof, thinking his own thoughts.
have Let me have your thoughts on the report.
express, write down | read She often seems to know what I'm thinking, as though she can read my thoughts.
dread, not be able to bear, not like, not relish She said she couldn't bear the thought of living alone in the house. I don't like the thought of you walking home alone.
THOUGHT + VERB come/pop into your mind, come to sb, cross your mind, go/flash/pass/race through your mind, hit sb, occur to sb, strike sb The thought crossed my mind that Jim might know the answer. All kinds of thoughts raced through my mind.
~s turn to sth My thoughts turned to home.
PREP. ~ about He lay there thinking gloomy thoughts about life and death.
~ of The children were overjoyed at the thought of going to the seaside on holiday.
~ on They asked him what his thoughts were on the government's announcement.
PHRASES just a thought Would Mark be able to help? It's just a thought.
keep your thoughts to yourself He's not the kind of man to keep his thoughts to himself.
the mere/very thought of sth The mere thought of lice makes my head itch.
push/put the thought aside/away, push the thought from/out of your mind

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

thought
II. process/act of thinking
ADJ. careful, proper | deep, profound She is known for her deep thought and intellectual ways.
coherent He was so upset, he was incapable of coherent thought.
logical, rational | analytical, critical | abstract | creative | free, independent | conscious My job is so repetitive, it does not require much conscious thought.
fresh We have to give the matter fresh thought.
second I accepted the offer without a second thought.
VERB + THOUGHT give sb/sth, spare (sb) I've given the matter careful thought. Don't give it another thought (= to tell sb not to worry after they have said they are sorry). Spare a thought for us?we'll be working through the night to finish the report.
direct, turn I tried to turn my thoughts to pleasanter things.
provoke The article was intended to provoke thought.
be deep in, be lost in She was deep in thought and didn't hear me call her.
THOUGHT + VERB go into sth Not enough thought has gone into this essay.
THOUGHT + NOUN pattern, process I couldn't see what thought processes led him to that conclusion.
PREP. without ~ They had acted rashly, without thought.
PHRASES after a moment's thought After a moment's thought, I accepted his offer.
freedom of thought The constitution guarantees freedom of thought and belief.
a line/mode/train of thought That line of thought can only lead to one conclusion. He hesitated, as though he had lost his train of thought.
thought-provoking There was a thought-provoking article about poverty in the paper.
with no thought for sth He ran into the burning house with no thought for his own life.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

thought
III. ideas
ADJ. modern | 19th-century, etc. | Eastern, Western | intellectual, philosophical, scientific | economic, political | feminist, liberal, socialist, etc.
PHRASES a school of thought They belong to different schools of thought.
a strand of thought three different strands of scientific thought

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

thought
IV. kindness
ADJ. kind, kindly, nice Thank you for the flowers?it was a very kind thought.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

thought

have a thought
I just had a funny thought.
express your thoughts (=say what they are or tell other people about them)
He was finding it difficult to express his thoughts.
a thought occurs to/comes to/strikes somebody (=someone suddenly has a thought)
The thought occurred to him that she might be lying.
a thought crosses sb’s mind (=someone has a thought)
The thought never crossed my mind that I could be wrong.
can’t bear the thought of something
I can’t bear the thought of you being hurt.
sb’s thoughts turn to something (=they start thinking about something)
As summer approaches, people’s thoughts turn to holidays.
sb’s first thought
My first thought was that a bomb had gone off.
a passing thought (=a quick, not very serious thought)
He never gives his appearance more than a passing thought.
a sobering thought (=one that makes you feel serious)
We have the power to destroy the world, which is a sobering thought.
horrible/disturbing
A horrible thought struck her: could he be having an affair?
a comforting thought
‘People might not have noticed we’re late.’ ‘That’s a comforting thought.’
a sudden thought
A sudden thought struck her and she began to laugh.
the very thought (=even the idea of doing something)
The very thought of going on stage made her feel ill.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

thought
noun
1.
DUBIOUS: People's attitudes and thoughts don't change overnight.
GOOD: People's attitudes and opinions don't change overnight.

Usage Note:
thought = something that you (suddenly) think of, remember or realize: 'Has the thought ever occurred to you that he might be guilty?' 'Does anyone have any thoughts about where we should eat?'
opinion/view = what you feel about something, especially after thinking about it for a long time: 'Journalists are supposed to report the facts, not personal opinions.' 'If you want my opinion - I think he's guilty.'

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2.
BAD: They are prepared to kill in order to defend their thoughts.
GOOD: They are prepared to kill in order to defend their beliefs.

Usage Note:
belief = a strong feeling that something is true or untrue, good or bad etc: 'In the old days people were persecuted for their religious beliefs.' 'The poet's belief in life after death is not evident in these early poems.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

idea something that you think of, especially something that you could do or suggest:
I think that’s an excellent idea.
Let me know if you have any good ideas.
thought something that comes into your mind:
The thought had entered my mind that he might be lying.
It was a worrying thought.
She was lost in her thoughts.
impression the idea that you have in your mind about what someone or something is like:
What was your impression of him?
inspiration a good and original idea, which makes you think of doing or creating something:
Where did you get your inspiration from for the book?
He suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
The design for the house was entirely the inspiration of the architect.
brainwave British English, brainstorm American English a sudden new and clever idea, especially one that solves a problem:
I thought I’d have to sell the house, but then I had a brainwave.
concept an idea of how something is, or how something should be done:
Concepts of beauty are different in different cultures.
the traditional concept of marriage
notion an idea about life or society, especially one that is a little silly or old-fashioned:
There is no evidence to support the notion that poverty is caused by laziness.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

thought
̈ɪθɔ:t
See: food for thought , penny for one's thoughts , perish the thought , second thought

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲