conclude
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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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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.
His lawyer, Gary Allan KC, reiterated Robertson's own comment that he was "no angel" but questioned whether jurors could "hand on heart" conclude that they do not believe him.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
Warsh said he hopes most of the task forces, if not all of them, will conclude their work by the end of this year.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 17, 2026
The Federal Reserve will conclude its two-day policy meeting later today, and the least interesting aspect will be its decision on interest rates.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
The memorandum of understanding, providing a rough framework to conclude the war, was signed digitally Sunday, with a ceremony scheduled to take place on Friday in Switzerland, U.S. officials said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
On some expeditions guides have gone to the summit without any of their paying customers, prompting the bitter clients to conclude that they were brought along simply to pick up the tab.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
