conclude

American  

[kuhn-klood] / kənˈklud /

verb (used with object)

• concludes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• concluded,
  past participle,  past
• concluding
  present participle

1. to bring to an end; finish; terminate.

   to conclude a speech with a quotation from the Bible.

2. to say in conclusion.

   At the end of the speech he concluded that we had been a fine audience.

3. to bring to a decision or settlement; settle or arrange finally.

   to conclude a treaty.

4. to determine by reasoning; deduce; infer.

   They studied the document and concluded that the author must have been an eyewitness.

5. to decide, determine, or resolve.

   He concluded that he would go no matter what the weather.

6. Obsolete.

   1. to shut up or enclose.

   2. to restrict or confine.

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verb (used without object)

• concludes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• concluded,
  past participle,  past
• concluding
  present participle

1. to come to an end; finish.

   The meeting concluded at ten o'clock.

2. to arrive at an opinion or judgment; come to a decision; decide.

   The jury concluded to set the accused free.

conclude British  

/ kənˈkluːd /

verb

1. (also intr) to come or cause to come to an end or conclusion

2. (takes a clause as object) to decide by reasoning; deduce

   the judge concluded that the witness had told the truth

3. to arrange finally; settle

   to conclude a treaty

   it was concluded that he should go

4. obsolete to confine

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• concluder
  noun
• preconclude
  verb (used with object)
• concludable
  adjective
• concludible
  adjective
• nonconcluding
  adjective
• unconcludable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• concluding
  present
• concluded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• conclude
  simple
• concludes
  simple
• have concluded
  perfect
• has concluded
  perfect
• am concluding
  progressive
• are concluding
  progressive
• is concluding
  progressive
• have been concluding
  perfect progressive
• has been concluding
  perfect progressive

Past

• concluded
  simple
• had concluded
  perfect
• was concluding
  progressive
• were concluding
  progressive
• had been concluding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will conclude
  simple
• will have concluded
  perfect
• will be concluding
  progressive
• will have been concluding
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conclude concludes concluded concluding

And it would be easy to conclude that he’s running a kind of big con.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

This led some fans to conclude the Gallaghers may have been planning to rock up at Worthy Farm's Pyramid Stage to close the event.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

In favoring hyperscalers over chip stocks, the market appeared to conclude that Microsoft and its peers will still be among the world’s most-profitable companies even if AI investments were to lose speed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

The current “Star Trek” shows, “Strange New Worlds” and “Starfleet Academy,” are set to conclude after their next seasons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

After another quarter of an hour, however, he was forced to conclude that the rest of his mother’s letter was gone.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

He says that he is driving to pick up his mother, then concludes by inviting those watching to reach out to him in person.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

"Caffeine is neither 'good' nor 'bad'. It is a biologically active substance whose effects depend on dose, time of day, age, lifestyle, sleep quality, stress burden, and individual sensitivity," the expert concludes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

He says it concludes the rise in mental health problems since the 1990s is real, with about one in four 16 to 24-year-olds now struggling.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

And it concludes, in another deft turn, as a poignant character study.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

She sticks her finger in her mouth, pulls it out, and concludes, “Ain’t no magic here.”

From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott

The researchers concluded that the fine sediment at the bottom had been deposited following a major Cascadia subduction zone earthquake.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

Williams concluded her statement by sending her love and sympathies to Gilbert’s family, friends and his New Found Glory bandmates Jordan Pundik, Cyrus Bolooki and Ian Grushka.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Openings that had long been considered dead because players had concluded they were so tactically weak have been revived because the engines saw sequences that world champions couldn’t.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the Secret Service cannot deny a White House press pass absent “narrow and specific standards by which applications are to be judged.”

From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026

“No need for EBT or tap to pay, just show up. All doors lead to Sandy June’s, including your own fridge door!” the voice concluded.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The arbitration-based courtroom show premiered in 1995 and aired for 25 seasons before concluding in 2021.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Each of the statement’s six concluding points mentions “the university.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

This is a crucial distinction because many commentators in effect have been focusing only on the breadth of Wall Street’s bullishness, and concluding that a top must be near.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Bothwell said the eclipse is forecast to begin at 18:15 BST in Cambridge and will reach its peak at 19:12, before concluding at about 20:00.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

The majority of sixth graders sided with the thief, concluding that Vermeer’s early and late works were indeed suspicious.

From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett

Related Words

• accomplish
• achieve
• carry out
• confirm
• decide
• determine
• establish
• rule
• work out