thought

/θoːt/
noun 5

Collocations

56
1

(noun.) sth that you think

ADJ

comforting, good, happy, pleasant, positive

It was a pleasant thought that we would finally see our grandchildren again after so long.

anxious, appalling, awful, bad, black, dark, depressing, disquieting, disturbing, gloomy, negative, sad, sobering, terrible

She had a terrible thought about whether she had locked the front door.

interesting, intriguing

first, immediate, initial

When I saw the broken vase, my first thought was to call my mother and apologize.

sudden | little | fleeting, passing | conscious | unspoken

waking

During the long flight, the project occupied most of his waking thoughts.

VERB + THOUGHT

have, think

She thinks a thought about quitting her job every Monday morning.

have

I'd like to have your thoughts about which restaurant we should try tonight.

express, write down

read

My best friend can always read my thoughts without me saying anything.

dread, not be able to bear, not like, not relish

He dreaded the thought of telling his parents that he had failed the exam.

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

A sudden thought struck her when she saw the old photograph on the shelf.

~s turn to sth

When I heard the music, my thoughts turned to my childhood memories.

PREP

~ about

She couldn't stop having worried thoughts about her job interview tomorrow.

~ of

The idea of moving to a new city made her nervous at first.

~ on

She never shared her thoughts on politics with her coworkers.

PHRASES

just a thought

Maybe we could invite Sarah to the party—just a thought though.

keep your thoughts to yourself

She decided to keep her thoughts to herself during the meeting and just listened.

the mere/very thought of sth

The very thought of eating insects makes her feel sick.

push/put the thought aside/away, push the thought from/out of your mind

2

(noun.) process/act of thinking

ADJ

careful, proper

deep, profound

After years of meditation, he developed profound thought about the meaning of life.

coherent

After sleeping well, she felt ready to engage in coherent thought about the difficult problem.

logical, rational | analytical, critical | abstract | creative | free, independent

conscious

She made a conscious thought to call her mother every Sunday without fail.

fresh

After sleeping on it, she brought fresh thought to the problem and found a solution.

second

She didn't give a second thought to leaving her old job for a better opportunity.

VERB + THOUGHT

give sb/sth, spare (sb)

She spared a thought for her old friend while walking past their favorite café.

direct, turn

She directed her thoughts toward finding a solution to the problem.

provoke

His controversial speech provoked thought among the audience about social change.

be deep in, be lost in

He was lost in thought during the meeting and missed the important announcement.

THOUGHT + VERB

go into sth

A lot of careful thought went into planning the school trip.

THOUGHT + NOUN

pattern, process

Her thought pattern changed completely after she started studying philosophy.

PREP

without ~

She spoke without thought and later regretted hurting her friend's feelings.

PHRASES

after a moment's thought

After a moment's thought, she decided to apply for the job.

freedom of thought

People in democratic countries have the right to freedom of thought without government interference.

a line/mode/train of thought

She interrupted him mid-sentence and he completely lost his train of thought.

thought-provoking

The documentary about climate change was really thought-provoking and made me reconsider my daily habits.

with no thought for sth

She spent all her savings on the trip with no thought for her future expenses.

3

(noun.) ideas

ADJ

modern | 19th-century, etc. | Eastern, Western | intellectual, philosophical, scientific | economic, political | feminist, liberal, socialist, etc.

PHRASES

a school of thought

There are several schools of thought about the best way to learn a language.

a strand of thought

She followed a particular strand of thought about why the project had failed.

4

(noun.) kindness

ADJ

kind, kindly, nice

It was a nice thought to bring your friend soup when she was sick.

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