think

Formsthinks, thinking, thought

Pluralthinks

1. 1
   have an opinionverbtransitive

   To be of the opinion that; to consider or regard as.

   I think you're right about the price.

   Most people think the bridge is safe.

   UsageEnglish usually puts the negative on think: I don't think it's true is more natural than a later not.

   Similarbelieve, consider, feel, reckon, judge

   Oppositedoubt

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To guess or reckon, or to believe while admitting uncertainty.

   I think there's some milk left.

   He thought it was about a mile, no more.

   UsageFor short answers, usually say I think so or I don't think so.

   Similarsuppose, reckon, guess, imagine, expect

   Note

   Belief held loosely: I think softens a claim the speaker cannot vouch for. With should have or would have, it can turn surprised or reproachful. We would have thought she could have washed her hands means the expectation was reasonable and went unmet.

3. 3
   ponderverbtransitive

   To use your mind to consider something, reason it through, or work out a problem.

   Let me think what we need from the shop.

   She thought long and hard before answering.

   UsageOften think about something, or a question word follows: think what to do.

   Similarconsider, ponder, reflect, deliberate

   Note

   Here the verb takes a question as its object: think what to do, think which way to go. Marvell's lovers, given world enough and time, would sit down to think which way to walk, and the clause after the verb is the matter being turned over. Without that object the verb simply means to reason or reflect, as in think long and hard. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

   • The allusion is to Andrew Marvell's poem To His Coy Mistress, whose speaker imagines sitting with his beloved and considering which way to walk if they had sufficient world and time. en.wikipedia.org
4. 4
   verbintransitive

   To conceive of or picture someone or something, usually with 'of'.

   When I think of summer I think of that beach.

   Just think of all those people standing out in the snow for hours.

   Similarpicture, imagine, regard, see, envision

   Note

   Add as and the picture becomes a verdict, as in I tend to think of her as rather ugly. That makes think of X as Y a close neighbor of holding an opinion. A bare imperative, think of banking today, asks the reader to call up an image before the writer overturns it. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The banking passage begins by inviting readers to imagine banking, then contrasts the conventional image with its changing future. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To plan, be considering, or have a mind to do something.

   She's thinking of leaving the firm.

   Did you ever think of moving abroad after you retire?

   UsageUsually be thinking of or about + -ing: we're thinking of moving.

   Similarconsider, contemplate, plan, intend, mean

   Note

   Intention framed as a thought comes in two constructions. The older one takes a to-infinitive, as when Scott's cupbearer in Ivanhoe thought to have lodged a guest. The other uses of with an -ing form: if you think of having one. The to-infinitive keeps the flavor of Scott's prose. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Walter Scott wrote Ivanhoe. gutenberg.org
   • The cupbearer in Ivanhoe says that he intended to lodge a guest. en.wikisource.org
   • The wording “if you think of having one” occurs in a literary example. gutenberg.org
6. 6
   say to yourselfverbtransitive

   To have a statement in mind; to say to oneself.

   Every time I pass that bakery, I think, 'Just one cookie won't hurt.'

   'Not again,' she thought, as the phone rang.

   UsageOften after quoted words, like said: 'Not again,' she thought.

   Note

   Inner speech made audible: the words in the head are quoted, and I thought follows them like a speech tag. Fiction leans on the frame ("So this was my future home, I thought!"), and it is punctuated exactly like he said. Unlike the opinion sense, nothing is being judged. The verb simply reports what passed through the mind. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

   • The quoted sentence occurs in fiction, identified by Wiktionary as chapter IV of W. B. M. Ferguson’s Zollenstein. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   nounUKcountable

   A spell of consideration; an act of reflection.

   After a long think she said yes.

   You need a proper think before you sign.

   UsageMostly in have a think, with about for the subject: have a quick think about it.

   Similarponder, reflection, consideration, deliberation

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