English

Alternative forms

• gather one's thoughts

Verb

collect one's thoughts

1. (idiomatic) 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.
   • 1820, Washington Irving, "The Early Experiences of Ralph Ringwood," in The Crayon Papers:

     I got up feverish and nervous. I walked out before breakfast, striving to collect my thoughts and tranquilize my feelings.

   • 1857, Charlotte Brontë, The Professor, ch. 7:

     I took a moment to collect my thoughts, and likewise to frame in French the sentence by which I proposed to open business.

   • 1917, L. Frank Baum, The Lost Princess of Oz, ch. 7:

     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.

   • 2001, Dean E. Murphy, "Political Memo; Being Mike Bloomberg, Without a Script or a Doubt," New York Times, 30 Jul. (retrieved 11 Oct. 2008):

     "I'm a believer, umm," Mr. Bloomberg said before standing silently at the lectern for seven seconds as he collected his thoughts.

Translations

Synonyms

• collect one's wits / gather one's wits