Thought

hear thought

Have you given the new proposal any thought yet? We’re keen to hear your thoughts.

gather thought

The President was taken aback by the question and took a minute to gather his thoughts.

spare thought

Spare a thought for all those who are homeless on a cold night like this.

have thought

I’ve just had a thought! Why not have a party?

go out to thought

Our thoughts go out to all those families who lost relatives in the disaster.

occur thought

The thought just occurred to me that it’s mum’s birthday tomorrow and we haven’t got her a card.

the thought of examination

The very thought of my final examination fills me with dread!

the thought of eating meat

As a vegetarian, just the thought of eating meat makes me feel sick.

the thought of going home

We all became very excited at the thought of going home.

the thought of dying

I was shocked at the thought of all those people dying.

the thought of injection

I was trembling with fear at the thought of the injection.

the thought of meeting

She shuddered at the thought of meeting the man who had attacked her.

train of thought

Sorry, where was I? I’ve lost my train of thought.

freedom of thought

Some places still don’t encourage freedom of thought.

great deal of thought

Shirley doesn’t devote a great deal of thought to her appearance.

school of thought

One school of thought contends that modern man originated in Central Africa.

second thought

As soon as I got onto the plane. I began to have second thoughts about leaving. Was I doing the right thing?

negative thought

If you want to win, think positively. Try not to let negative thoughts take over.

secret thought

Many people use a diary to record their secret thoughts.

morbid thought

As I waited for the results of the tests, my mind was filled with morbid thoughts of death.

comforting thought

It’s a comforting thought that we’ll be sleeping in our own beds this time tomorrow night.

original thought

He doesn’t have an original thought in his head. He just steals other people’s.

Notes

• If you thought something was unimportant, you say:

I didn’t give it a moment’s thought.

• Note these expressions with thought + verb:

The thought occurred to me that he might…

The thought suddenly struck me that…

That thought had never crossed my mind.

• To ask someone’s opinion, you can say:

What are your thoughts on the matter, Alan?

Any thoughts on what we should do?

• If you don’t want to lose something or somebody:

I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my dog.

• Thought is also used to mean ‘caring’:

He’s always in my thoughts.