think

verb

The definition of think is to have an idea or belief about something, or to use your brain to consider or judge, or to state something more politely.

When you believe that the sky is blue, this is an example of when you think the sky is blue.
When you pause to consider your position on an issue, this is an example of when you think about the issue.
If you believe someone is wrong but you want to say so nicely, this is an example of when you could say "I think you are wrong."

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Think." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/thinK.

APA Style

Think. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/thinK

think

transitive verb

thought, think′ing

to form or have in the mind; conceive: thinking good thoughts
to hold in one's opinion; judge; consider: many think her charming
to believe; surmise; expect: they think they can come
to determine, resolve, work out, etc. by reasoning: think what your next move should be
Now Rare to purpose; intend: thinking to do right
1. to bring to mind; form an idea of: think what the future holds
2. to recall; recollect: think what joy was ours
to have the mind turned steadily toward; have constantly in mind: think success

Origin of think

from Middle English thenchen, to think, confused with thinchen, to seem from Old English thencan from Proto-Germanic an unverified form thankjan, to think: for Indo-European base see thank

to use the mind for arriving at conclusions, making decisions, drawing inferences, etc.; reflect; reason: learn to think
to have an opinion, belief, expectation, etc.: I just think so
to weigh something mentally; reflect: think before you act
to call to mind; recall; remember: with of or about
to have an opinion, judgment, etc.: with of or about
to allow oneself to consider: with of or about
to have regard for; consider the welfare of: with of or about
to discover or invent; conceive (of)

Informal the act of thinking: give it a good think

Slang having to do with thinking

think Idioms

think all the world of

to admire or love greatly

think better of

to form a more favorable opinion of
to make a more sensible or practical decision about, after reconsidering

think fit

to regard as proper or appropriate

think little (or nothing) of

to attach little (or no) importance, value, etc. to
to have little (or no) hesitancy about

think nothing of it!

you're welcome!

think on

Archaic to give thought or consideration to

think out

to think about completely or to the end
to work out, solve, discover, or plan by thinking

think out loud

to speak one's thoughts as they occur

also think aloud

think over

to give thought to; ponder well, as for reconsideration

think through

to think about until one reaches a conclusion or resolution

think twice

to reconsider; pause to think about again

think up

to invent, contrive, plan, etc. by thinking

impersonal verb

thought

to seem: obs., except in archaic methinks, methought

Origin of think

from Middle English thinchen, to seem, confused with thenchen, to think: see think

-think

a pattern or manner of thinking: groupthink

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Think." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/thinK.

APA Style

Think. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/thinK

think

verb

thought, think·ing, thinks

verb

transitive

To have or formulate in the mind: Think the happiest thought you can think.
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.
a. To judge or regard; look upon: I think it only fair.
b. To believe; suppose: always thought he was right.
a. To expect; hope: They thought she'd arrive early.
b. To intend: She thinks to defeat the incumbent in the election.
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.
To bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation: He thought himself into a panic over the impending examination.
To concentrate one's thoughts on; keep as a point of focus: Think victory.

verb

intransitive

To exercise the power of reason, as by conceiving ideas, drawing inferences, and using judgment: My cold made it difficult to think.
To consider or weigh an idea: They are thinking about moving.
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.
To have a belief, supposition, or opinion: He thinks of himself as a wit. It's later than you think.
To have care or consideration: Think first of the ones you love.
To use the mind in a certain way: He thinks just like you do—always worrying.

adjective

Informal

Requiring much thought to create or assimilate: a think book.

noun

The act or an instance of deliberate or extended thinking; a meditation.

Origin of think

Middle English thenken from Old English thencan ; see tong- in Indo-European roots.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Think." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/thinK.

APA Style

Think. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/thinK

think

think cerebrate cogitate reason reflect speculate

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; speculates on what will happen.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Think." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/thinK.

APA Style

Think. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/thinK

Verb

(third-person singular simple present thinks, present participle thinking, simple past and past participle thought)

To ponder, to go over in one's head.
Idly, the detective thought what his next move should be.
(intransitive) To communicate to oneself in one's mind, to try to find a solution to a problem.
I thought for three hours about the problem and still couldn't find the solution.
(intransitive) To conceive of something or someone (usually followed by of; infrequently, by on).
I tend to think of her as rather ugly.
To be of the opinion (that).
I think she is pretty, contrary to most people.
To guess; to reckon.
I think she'll pass the examination.
To consider, judge, regard, or look upon (something) as.
At the time I thought his adamant refusal to give in right. I hope you won't think me stupid if I ask you what that means.
To plan; to be considering; to be of a mind (to do something).
To presume; to venture.

Related terms

Noun

(usually uncountable, plural thinks)

An act of thinking; consideration (of something).
I'll have a think about that and let you know.

Origin

From Middle English thinken, thynken, thenken, thenchen, from Old English Ã¾encan (“to meditate, cogitate, consider; think, have in mind; suppose, imagine, hold as an opinion or belief; think of, consider, employ the mind on a subject, reason"), from Proto-Germanic *Ã¾ankijanÄ… (“to think, suppose, perceive"), from Proto-Indo-European *tong-, *teng- (“to think, feel, know"). Cognate with Scots think, thynk (“to think"), North Frisian teenk, taanke, tanke, tÃ¥nke (“to think"), Saterland Frisian toanke (“to think"), West Frisian tinke (“to think"), Dutch denken (“to think"), Low German denken (“to think"), dinken, German denken (“to think"), Danish tÃ¦nke (“to think"), Swedish tÃ¤nka (“to think"), Norwegian tenke (“to think"), Icelandic Ã¾ekkja (“to know, recognise, identify, perceive"), Latin tongeÅ (“know").

Verb

think (obsolete except in archaic methinks)

(intransitive) To seem, to appear.

Origin

From Old English Ã¾yncan

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Think." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/thinK.

APA Style

Think. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/thinK

think

think

-think

think

think

Sentence Examples

Related

WORDS NEAR think IN THE DICTIONARY

think

think

-think

think

think

Sentence Examples

Related

WORDS NEAR think IN THE DICTIONARY

Join YourDictionary today