think (thĭngk)

v., thought (thôt), think·ing, thinks.

v.tr.

1. To have or formulate in the mind.
2. 1. To reason about or reflect on; ponder: Think how complex language is. Think the matter through.
   2. To decide by reasoning, reflection, or pondering: thinking what to do.
3. To judge or regard; look upon: I think it only fair.
4. To believe; suppose: always thought he was right.
5. 1. To expect; hope: They thought she'd arrive early.
   2. To intend: They thought they'd take their time.
6. To call to mind; remember: I can't think what her name was.
7. To visualize; imagine: Think what a scene it will be at the reunion.
8. To devise or evolve; invent: thought up a plan to get rich quick.
9. To bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation: He thought himself into a panic over the impending examination.
10. To concentrate one's thoughts on: "Think languor" (Diana Vreeland).

v.intr.

1. To exercise the power of reason, as by conceiving ideas, drawing inferences, and using judgment.
2. To weigh or consider an idea: They are thinking about moving.
3. 1. To bring a thought to mind by imagination or invention: No one before had thought of bifocal glasses.
   2. To recall a thought or an image to mind: She thought of her childhood when she saw the movie.
4. To believe; suppose: 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 dispose the mind in a given way: Do you think so?

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.

1. 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 (or out loud)

1. To speak one's thoughts audibly.

think better of

1. To change one's mind about; reconsider.

think big

1. To plan ambitiously or on a grand scale.

think little of

1. To regard as inferior; have a poor opinion of.

think nothing of

1. To give little consideration to; regard as routine or usual: thought nothing of a 50-mile trip every day.

think twice

1. To weigh something carefully: I'd think twice before spending all that money on clothes.

[Middle English thenken, from Old English thencan.]

SYNONYMS   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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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