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think (thĭngk)
Share:
v. thought (thôt), think·ing, thinks
v.tr.
1. To have or formulate in the mind: Think the happiest thought you can think.
2.
a. To reason about or reflect on; ponder: Think how complex language is. Think the matter through.
b. To decide by reasoning, reflection, or pondering: thinking what to do.
3.
a. To judge or regard; look upon: I think it only fair.
b. To believe; suppose: always thought he was right.
4.
a. To expect; hope: They thought she'd arrive early.
b. To intend: She thinks to defeat the incumbent in the election.
5.
a. To call to mind; remember: I can't think what her name was.
b. To visualize; imagine: Think what a scene it will be at the reunion.
c. To devise or evolve; invent: thought up a plan to get rich quick.
6. To bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation: He thought himself into a panic over the impending examination.
7. To concentrate one's thoughts on; keep as a point of focus: Think victory.
v.intr.
1. To exercise the power of reason, as by conceiving ideas, drawing inferences, and using judgment: My cold made it difficult to think.
2. To consider or weigh an idea: They are thinking about moving.
3.
a. To bring a thought to mind by using the imagination: No one before had thought of bifocal glasses.
b. To recall a thought or an image to mind: She thought of her childhood when she saw the movie.
4. To have a belief, supposition, or opinion: He thinks of himself as a wit. It's later than you think.
5. To have care or consideration: Think first of the ones you love.
6. To use the mind in a certain way: He thinks just like you doalways worrying.
adj.
Informal
Requiring much thought to create or assimilate: a think book.
n.
The act or an instance of deliberate or extended thinking; a meditation.
Idioms:
come to think of it Informal
When one considers the matter; on reflection: Come to think of it, that road back there was the one we were supposed to take.
think aloud/out loud
To speak one's thoughts audibly.
think better of
To change one's mind about; reconsider.
think big
To plan ambitiously or on a grand scale.
think little of
To regard as inferior; have a poor opinion of.
think nothing of
To give little consideration to; regard as routine or usual: thought nothing of a 50-mile trip every day.
think twice
To weigh something carefully: I'd think twice before spending all that money on clothes.

[Middle English thenken, from Old English thencan; see tong- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: think, cerebrate, cogitate, reason, reflect
These verbs mean to use the powers of the mind, as in conceiving ideas or drawing inferences: thought before answering; sat in front of the fire cerebrating; cogitates about business problems; reasons clearly; took time to reflect before deciding.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.