conclude
Americanverb (used with object)
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concludes,
present (3rd person singular)
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concluded,
past participle, past
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concluding
present participle
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to bring to an end; finish; terminate.
to conclude a speech with a quotation from the Bible.
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to say in conclusion.
At the end of the speech he concluded that we had been a fine audience.
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to bring to a decision or settlement; settle or arrange finally.
to conclude a treaty.
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to determine by reasoning; deduce; infer.
They studied the document and concluded that the author must have been an eyewitness.
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to decide, determine, or resolve.
He concluded that he would go no matter what the weather.
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Obsolete.
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to shut up or enclose.
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to restrict or confine.
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verb (used without object)
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concludes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
concluded,
past participle, past
-
concluding
present participle
verb
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(also intr) to come or cause to come to an end or conclusion
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(takes a clause as object) to decide by reasoning; deduce
the judge concluded that the witness had told the truth
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to arrange finally; settle
to conclude a treaty
it was concluded that he should go
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obsolete to confine
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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concludernoun
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preconcludeverb (used with object)
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concludableadjective
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concludibleadjective
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nonconcludingadjective
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unconcludableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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concludesimple
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concludessimple
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have concludedperfect
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has concludedperfect
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am concludingprogressive
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are concludingprogressive
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is concludingprogressive
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have been concludingperfect progressive
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has been concludingperfect progressive
Past
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concludedsimple
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had concludedperfect
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was concludingprogressive
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were concludingprogressive
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had been concludingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of conclude
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin conclūdere “to close, end an argument,” equivalent to con- con- + -clūdere, combining form of claudere “to close ”
Explanation
The verb conclude means two related things: coming to a decision, and bringing to a close. Conclude is related to the word close, which is related to an old Latin word for "barrier" or "bolt" — the kind you put on a door. When you conclude something, it's as though you're pulling a door shut and bolting it. If your girlfriend concludes an argument by leaving the room and slamming the door, you can conclude that she's angry at you.
Vocabulary lists containing conclude
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 21-30
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The trial will span 12 days and conclude March 19, the judge wrote in her order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
To conclude the excluded player regs, it's also worth knowing that we're not allowed to know the identity of any excluded players.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Don’t conclude from the Russell 2000/S&P 500 comparison that the large-cap sector is undervalued.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The product release led some founders to conclude that Anthropic might launch tools to compete with them and take their customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Their walk would conclude at the brand-new British Museum, where they would spend the remainder of the afternoon touring the galleries and perhaps pop in on a lecture or two.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
An alert is displayed for 12hours and 30 minutes after a spill concludes.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
"Now is the time for dialogue," stressed Petro, who concludes his visit on Saturday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
This year’s weeklong contest concludes Saturday in Phoenix, when a new world champion will be crowned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Yet the dollar’s recent strength isn’t translating into much relief for Warsh ahead of his second rate-setting meeting as Fed chair, which concludes Wednesday afternoon.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
"They have nothing better to do," she concludes, drawing up her chin, above it all.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
"A sad and reproachable series of events - which were thankfully concluded with the project permanently abandoned - for as much as we feel dismayed by them, should not overshadow this reality," Grafstrom wrote.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Based on this combination of traits, the researchers concluded that Luffy is probably the sister group of the entire Eucibdelus lineage.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
The meeting could help Myanmar’s military rulers—who concluded elections earlier this year—in their campaign for international legitimacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
In another study using different methods, researchers at Imperial College in London and Indiana University concluded that correcting this disparity would require insurers to hold even more capital.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
“It was a victory like no other. It was an affirmation of the movement,” Vivian concluded.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
Olympian David Hearn after concluding that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by a flawed renovation rather than vandalism.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
"If inflation remains elevated, in my view, a potential series of small policy moves would be better than waiting and eventually concluding that even bolder actions were necessary," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Melissa Orta moved to Lehigh Acres from Miami five years ago, after graduating from college and concluding she wouldn’t be able to afford a home in her native city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
His firm spent 18 months researching the natural-gas landscape, concluding that a shortage is unavoidable by the second half of 2028.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Knox was talking specifically about New York City, but his concluding thoughts on this process could be applied to all large urban centers.
From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
