Think over meaning
Think over means to think carefully about something before you decide.
think something over
think over · thought · thinking
Thanks for the offer. Can I think it over?
Think over meanings and examples
One meaning, each with its own CEFR level from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary.
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1
Think carefully about something before you decide
think something over
- Thanks for the offer. Can I think it over?
- She thought over the job for a week before saying yes.
- Don’t answer now. Think over what I said.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use think over in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is think over separable?
Think over is separable: think over the offer, think the offer over. With a pronoun, it goes in the middle: think it over, not think over it.
Let me think it over is a polite way to say you need time before you decide. In US English, think through is also common for a careful plan.
Verb tenses for think over
| Present | I think over · she thinks over |
|---|---|
| Past | thought over |
| Present perfect | have thought over |
| -ing form | thinking over |
Common mistakes with think over
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: It’s a good offer. I’ll think over it.
Right: It’s a good offer. I’ll think it over.
A pronoun goes between think and over.
Wrong: I need to think over about it.
Right: I need to think it over.
No about. Think about it or think it over, not both.
Wrong: I thinked it over last night.
Right: I thought it over last night.
The past of think is thought.
Synonyms and opposites of think over
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- considerthe formal one-word verb
- talk overdiscuss something with another person before deciding
- sleep on itwait until tomorrow before you decide
Opposite
- decide on the spotdecide at once with no time to think
- jump ataccept an offer quickly and happily
Think over quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1It’s a big change. Take a few days to ___.
Think over means think carefully before you decide.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The pronoun goes between think and over.
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3A salesperson asks, “Will you buy it today?” You answer, “I need to think it over.” What do you mean?
Think it over is a polite way to ask for time.
Find your level
The phrasal verbs test adapts as you answer, from A2 to C1, and shows which ones you miss.
- get overB1feel better after an illness
- take overB2start doing a job or a task that someone else was doing
- come overB1visit someone at their home
- go overB2check something carefully, looking for mistakes
- turn overB1move something so the other side faces up
- look overC2check something quickly, to see if it is right
- run overC1hit someone or something with a vehicle and drive over them
- pull overC1drive to the side of the road and stop
Think over FAQ
Questions people ask about think over.
Think over vs think about: what is the difference?
Think about is general: I’m thinking about lunch. Think over means think carefully before a decision: I’ll think the offer over.
Think over vs think up: what is the difference?
Think over means consider something. Think up means invent something: She thought up a great name for the shop.
Is let me think it over polite?
Yes. It is a soft way to say not now. In shops and at work it is a polite way to avoid saying yes at once.
Use think over in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.