collect one's thoughts

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word collect one's thoughts. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word collect one's thoughts, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say collect one's thoughts in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word collect one's thoughts you have here. The definition of the word collect one's thoughts will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofcollect one's thoughts, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Verb

collect one's thoughts (third-person singular simple present collects one's thoughts, present participle collecting one's thoughts, simple past and past participle collected one's thoughts)

  1. (idiomatic) To become mentally composed, especially after being distressed, surprised, or disoriented; to become calm or organized in one's emotional state or thinking, as in preparation for a conversation, speech, decision, etc.
    • 1820, Washington Irving, “The Early Experiences of Ralph Ringwood,”, in The Crayon Papers:
      I got up feverish and nervous. I walked out before breakfast, striving to collect my thoughts and tranquilize my feelings.
    • 1857, Charlotte Brontë, chapter 7, in The Professor:
      I took a moment to collect my thoughts, and likewise to frame in French the sentence by which I proposed to open business.
    • 1917, L. Frank Baum, chapter 7, in The Lost Princess of Oz:
      She fell sprawling upon a green meadow and was so dazed and bewildered by her bumpy journey across the Merry-Go-Round Mountains that she lay quite still for a time to collect her thoughts.
    • 2001 July 30, Dean E. Murphy, “Political Memo; Being Mike Bloomberg, Without a Script or a Doubt”, in New York Times, retrieved 11 Oct. 2008:
      "I'm a believer, umm," Mr. Bloomberg said before standing silently at the lectern for seven seconds as he collected his thoughts.

Synonyms

Translations