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think

verb · noun

Simple meaning

to consider something carefully or reflect on an idea

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

thingk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈθɪŋk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Ponder; reflect on, or reason about

  2. transitive

    To ponder, to go over in one's mind.

  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

    “I've been thinking all day and getting nowhere.”

  4. Have in mind as a purpose

  5. Have or formulate in the mind

  6. transitive

    To have (some statement) in one's mind; to say to oneself mentally.

noun

  1. chiefly uk

    An act of thinking; consideration (of something).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Ponder; reflect on, or reason about

Used this way, think is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • cogitate , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use think

  • “I've been thinking all day and getting nowhere.”verb
  • “I think he is very smart.”verb
  • “Can you think what to do next?”verb

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • thinkingnounInflected form

    The process of using your mind to consider something carefully.

  • thinkernounInflected form

    An important intellectual.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • think ofverbCompound term

    Keep in mind for attention or consideration.

  • think outverbCompound term

    Consider carefully and rationally.

  • think oververbCompound term

    Reflect deeply on a subject.

  • think piecenounCompound term

    An article in a newspaper or magazine or journal that represents opinions and ideas and discussion rather than bare facts.

  • think tanknounCompound term

    A company that does research for hire and issues reports on the implications.

  • think the world ofverbCompound term

    Esteem very highly.

Say it better

Looking for a more precise alternative? “think” can mean several things.

I recommend changing this.I'd suggest changing this, here's why.This would work better if we changed it.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.