collect one's thoughts en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(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.
I got up feverish and nervous. I walked out before breakfast, striving to collect my thoughts and tranquilize my feelings.
1820, Washington Irving, “The Early Experiences of Ralph Ringwood,”, in The Crayon Papers: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.
1917, L. Frank Baum, chapter 7, in The Lost Princess of Oz:"I'm a believer, umm," Mr. Bloomberg said before standing silently at the lectern for seven seconds as he collected his 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 took a moment to collect my thoughts, and likewise to frame in French the sentence by which I proposed to open business.
1857, Charlotte Brontë, chapter 7, in The Professor:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| collected one's thoughts | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| collected one's thoughts | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| collects one's thoughts | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| collecting one's thoughts | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Synonyms
gather one's thoughts · gather one's wits · collect one's wits
Translations (6)
pl zbierać myśli (Translations) · ru собра́ться с мы́слями (Translations) · fi koota ajatuksensa (Translations) · pl zebrać myśli (Translations) · es organizarse los pensamientos (Translations) · es ordenar los pensamientos de (Translations)