afterthought

noun

af·​ter·​thought ˈaf-tər-ˌthȯt 

1

: an idea occurring later

made the suggestion as an afterthought

2

: something (such as a part or feature) not thought of originally : something secondary

a seating area added as an afterthought to the office

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

The employers who treat Medicare literacy as part of their employee benefit strategy, rather than an afterthought at the exit interview, will stand apart. —Sylvia Gordon, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

Those in-between spaces, so often treated as afterthoughts, became one of the emotional centers of his work. —Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026

Writing in the New York Times, Harvard economist Jason Furman was equally blunt, having previously argued that reforms to Social Security and Medicare to eliminate their actuarial deficits must be a central pillar of any serious deficit-reduction framework, not an afterthought. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 17 June 2026

Sometimes the main courses can even feel like afterthoughts. —Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 16 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

after- + thought entry 1

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for afterthought

• aeronaut
• aforethought
• apricot
• argonaut
• astronaut
• camelot
• coffeepot
• concordat
• cosmonaut
• entrepot
• flowerpot
• huguenot

Kids Definition

afterthought

noun

af·​ter·​thought -ˌthȯt 

1

: a later thought about something one has done or said

2

: something not thought of originally