afterthought

noun

af·​ter·​thought ˈaf-tər-ˌthȯt 

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Companies that can prove their commitment to governance through robust access controls and certifications gain an edge over competitors who treat identity governance as an afterthought. —Leslie Milne, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Most occupied the sidelines as the Dodgers spent $180 million on two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, won the bidding for Japanese star Roki Sasaki and, almost as an afterthought, doled out $72 million to reliever Tanner Scott and another $13 million to reliever Kirby Yates. —Andy McCullough, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

Despite all that, Francis’ climate advocacy was largely an afterthought in immediate media coverage of his death. —Sammy Roth, Mercury News, 27 Apr. 2025

Vancouver’s coach, Jesper Sorensen of Denmark, was hired in January and the team was an afterthought in the preseason predictions. —Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 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