THINK (thought)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: thought   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does think mean? 

• THINK (noun)
  The noun THINK has 1 sense:

1. an instance of deliberate thinking

  Familiarity information: THINK used as a noun is very rare.

• THINK (verb)
  The verb THINK has 13 senses:

1. judge or regard; look upon; judge

2. expect, believe, or suppose

3. use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments

4. recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection

5. imagine or visualize

6. focus one's attention on a certain state

7. have in mind as a purpose

8. decide by pondering, reasoning, or reflecting

9. ponder; reflect on, or reason about

10. dispose the mind in a certain way

11. have or formulate in the mind

12. be capable of conscious thought

13. bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation

  Familiarity information: THINK used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THINK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An instance of deliberate thinking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

I need to give it a good think

Hypernyms ("think" is a kind of...):

advisement; deliberation; weighing (careful consideration)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Derivation:

think (be capable of conscious thought)

think (recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection)

think (imagine or visualize)

think (decide by pondering, reasoning, or reflecting)

think (ponder; reflect on, or reason about)

think (focus one's attention on a certain state)

think (have or formulate in the mind)

think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)

• THINK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they think    ... he / she / it thinks   
Past simple: thought   
Past participle: thought   
-ing form: thinking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Judge or regard; look upon; judge

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

believe; conceive; consider; think

Context example:

The racist conceives such people to be inferior

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "think"):

hold (remain committed to)

rethink (change one's mind)

think (dispose the mind in a certain way)

be known as; esteem; know as; look on; look upon; regard as; repute; take to be; think of (look on as or consider)

feel (have a feeling or perception about oneself in reaction to someone's behavior or attitude)

consider; reckon; regard; see; view (deem to be)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s something Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They think that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

thought (a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Expect, believe, or suppose

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

guess; imagine; opine; reckon; suppose; think

Context example:

I guess she is angry at me for standing her up

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

anticipate; expect (regard something as probable or likely)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "think"):

suspect (hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

thought (a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

cerebrate; cogitate; think

Context example:

I've been thinking all day and getting nowhere

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "think"):

center; centre; concentrate; focus; pore; rivet (direct one's attention on something)

think (decide by pondering, reasoning, or reflecting)

think (ponder; reflect on, or reason about)

think about (have on one's mind, think about actively)

devote; give; pay (dedicate)

associate; colligate; connect; link; link up; relate; tie in (make a logical or causal connection)

plan (make plans for something)

contemplate; meditate; study (think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes)

conclude; reason; reason out (decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion)

reason (think logically)

chew over; contemplate; excogitate; meditate; mull; mull over; muse; ponder; reflect; ruminate; speculate; think over (reflect deeply on a subject)

brainstorm (try to solve a problem by thinking intensely about it)

philosophise; philosophize (reason philosophically)

think (have or formulate in the mind)

rationalise; rationalize (think rationally; employ logic or reason)

puzzle over (try to solve)

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Also:

think out (consider carefully and rationally)

think over (reflect deeply on a subject)

think up (devise or invent)

Derivation:

thought; thinking (the process of using your mind to consider something carefully)

thinker (someone who exercises the mind (usually in an effort to reach a decision))

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

thinker (an important intellectual)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

call back; call up; recall; recollect; remember; retrieve; think

Context example:

call up memories

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "think"):

recognise; recognize (perceive to be the same)

brush up; refresh; review (refresh one's memory)

know (perceive as familiar)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Also:

think back (recapture the past; indulge in memories)

Derivation:

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Imagine or visualize

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

Think what a scene it must have been!

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

conceive of; envisage; ideate; imagine (form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Focus one's attention on a certain state

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

think thin

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

center; centre; concentrate; focus; pore; rivet (direct one's attention on something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s Adjective

Derivation:

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Have in mind as a purpose

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

intend; mean; think

Context example:

We thought to return early that night

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "think"):

design (intend or have as a purpose)

be after; plan (have the will and intention to carry out some action)

aim; propose; purport; purpose (propose or intend)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They think to move

Sense 8

Meaning:

Decide by pondering, reasoning, or reflecting

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

Can you think what to do next?

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)

Verb group:

think (ponder; reflect on, or reason about)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

thinking (the process of using your mind to consider something carefully)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Ponder; reflect on, or reason about

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

Think how hard life in Russia must be these days

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)

Verb group:

think (decide by pondering, reasoning, or reflecting)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Derivation:

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

thought (the process of using your mind to consider something carefully)

thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Dispose the mind in a certain way

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

Do you really think so?

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

believe; conceive; consider; think (judge or regard; look upon; judge)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

thought (the organized beliefs of a period or group or individual)

Sense 11

Meaning:

Have or formulate in the mind

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

think good thoughts

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Sense 12

Meaning:

Be capable of conscious thought

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

Man is the only creature that thinks

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue think

Derivation:

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

thought (the process of using your mind to consider something carefully)

thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Sense 13

Meaning:

Bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

She thought herself into a state of panic over the final exam

Hypernyms (to "think" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

And human life is in no wise different, though you feel it is and think that you reason why it is.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Good God, it’s dreadful to think of!

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The thought of food was not even pleasant to him, and whatever he did was done by his reason alone.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The Count's mysterious warning frightened me at the time; it frightens me more now when I think of it, for in future he has a fearful hold upon me.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Think you it was for such a life that this good arm was fixed upon my shoulder, or that head placed upon your neck?

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It touches me nearly now, although I tell it lightly, to recollect how eager I was to leave my happy home; to think how little I suspected what I did leave for ever.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“You’re driving our dogs, and you do what you think best with them.”

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

And you thought the rooms were watched?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

But then, when I found how I had betrayed myself, I began to think.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)