Definition
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.
In Context
- "I got up feverish and nervous. I walked out before breakfast, striving to collect my thoughts and tranquilize my feelings."
- "I took a moment to collect my thoughts, and likewise to frame in French the sentence by which I proposed to open business."
- "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."
- ""I'm a believer, umm," Mr. Bloomberg said before standing silently at the lectern for seven seconds as he collected his thoughts."
Also Said As
- collect one's wits
- gather one's thoughts
- gather one's wits