afterthought
noun
af·ter·thought
| \ -ˌthȯt
\
\
Definition of afterthought
1
: an idea occurring later
2
: something (such as a part or feature) not thought of originally : something secondary
Examples of afterthought in a Sentence
Then I remembered, almost as an afterthought, to feed the cat.
The fact was hidden deep in the report, almost as an afterthought.
The lounge was added to the office as an afterthought.
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Recent Examples on the Web
An afterthought on offense a year earlier, receiver Laviska Shenault showcased his All-American potential, erupting for 11 receptions for 211 yards —the fourth-most receiving yards in CU history. — Pat Rooney, The Denver Post, "End of an era: The top CU Buffs Denver moments in Rocky Mountain Showdown," 29 Aug. 2019 State law now requires the Department of Education to publish local fiscal impact notes on charter schools, but they are largely viewed as an afterthought by the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. — Dan Mcgowan, BostonGlobe.com, "R.I. gave mayors control over certain charter schools. Now one is blocking an expansion," 26 Aug. 2019 Bev wondered what the son thought of this arrangement—the aide and her child taking over the apartment, his mother an afterthought. — J. Robert Lennon, The New Yorker, "The Loop," 19 Aug. 2019 Thus for all the attention lavished on the epic fight for the White House, the battle for control of the Senate shouldn’t be overlooked, or treated as some mere election afterthought. — Los Angeles Times, "Free college? Better healthcare? Democrats need to win the Senate along with the White House," 15 Aug. 2019 The film component of these deals is largely an afterthought given that this type of talent is being courted more for their series prowess. — Tatiana Siegel, The Hollywood Reporter, "How Film Producers Became the New Expendables: "There's Panic and Confusion"," 15 Aug. 2019 The music, needless to say, was an afterthought at this juncture. — Rebecca Schuman, Longreads, "I’ll Be Loving You Forever," 14 Aug. 2019 Russia is a fallen superpower, and that’s very hard for people in a country to go from being one of the two most-important countries in the world to being a kind of afterthought or also-ran. — Eric Johnson, Vox, "The wrong US response to Russia and China may trigger a “new Cold War,” warns Stanford University’s Larry Diamond," 7 Aug. 2019 The game was actually an afterthought with all the celebrating and longtime Pony Baseball official Billy Brooks helping NASA-Orange get the ball rolling on its trip to California. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "NASA-Orange 13s California bound for Pony World Series," 20 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'afterthought.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for afterthought
afterthought
noun
English Language Learners Definition of afterthought
: something done or said after other things because it was not thought of earlier
See the full definition for afterthought in the English Language Learners Dictionary
afterthought
noun
af·ter·thought
| \ ˈaf-tər-ˌthȯt
\
\
Kids Definition of afterthought
: something done or said that was not thought of originally
A bow was added to the present as an afterthought.