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

With the Tigers entering the contest trying to play spoiler with a 7-4 record, the contest feels like an afterthought amid their national coaching search. —Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025

Allison Keaney, the first female CEO of the Cow Palace, one of California's biggest rodeo venues, said ticket sales jumped 61% this year, and women's rodeo, once an afterthought, is now ropin' in fans fast. —Itay Hod, CBS News, 25 Nov. 2025

That invisible web of connections, once an afterthought, now defines how far AI can scale. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 21 Nov. 2025

The risk of Erivo becoming an afterthought by the time January hits isn’t altogether unlikely. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2025

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