idea

[ ahy-dee-uh, ahy-deeuh ]

noun

1. any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
2. a thought, conception, or notion:

   That is an excellent idea.

3. an impression:

   He gave me a general idea of how he plans to run the department.

4. an opinion, view, or belief:

   His ideas on raising children are certainly strange.

   Synonyms: judgment, sentiment

5. a plan of action; an intention:

   the idea of becoming an engineer.

6. a groundless supposition; fantasy.
7. Philosophy.
   1. a concept developed by the mind.
   2. a conception of what is desirable or ought to be; ideal.
   3. (initial capital letter) Platonism. Also called form. an archetype or pattern of which the individual objects in any natural class are imperfect copies and from which they derive their being.
   4. Kantianism. idea of pure reason.
8. Music. a theme, phrase, or figure.
9. Obsolete.
   1. a likeness.
   2. a mental image.

Idea

¹

/ aɪˈdɪə /

noun

1. See Form
   another name for Form

idea

²

/ aɪˈdɪə /

noun

1. any content of the mind, esp the conscious mind
2. the thought of something

   the very idea appals me

3. a mental representation of something

   she's got a good idea of the layout of the factory

4. the characterization of something in general terms; concept

   the idea of a square circle is self-contradictory

5. an individual's conception of something

   his idea of honesty is not the same as yours and mine

6. the belief that something is the case

   he has the idea that what he's doing is right

7. a scheme, intention, plan, etc

   here's my idea for the sales campaign

8. a vague notion or indication; inkling

   he had no idea of what life would be like in Africa

9. significance or purpose

   the idea of the game is to discover the murderer

10. philosophy
    1. a private mental object, regarded as the immediate object of thought or perception
    2. a Platonic Idea or Form
11. music a thematic phrase or figure; motif
12. obsolete.
    a mental image
13. get ideas
    get ideas to become ambitious, restless, etc
14. not one's idea of
    not one's idea of not what one regards as (hard work, a holiday, etc)
15. that's an idea
    that's an idea that is worth considering
16. the very idea!
    the very idea! that is preposterous, unreasonable, etc

Usage

It is usually considered correct to say that someone has the idea of doing something, rather than the idea to do it: he had the idea of taking (not the idea to take ) a short holiday

Derived Forms

• iˈdealess, adjective

Other Words From

• i·dea·less adjective
• prei·dea noun
• subi·dea noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of idea¹

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin from Greek idéā “form, pattern,” equivalent to ide- (stem of ideîn “to see”) + -ā feminine noun ending; replacing late Middle English idee from Middle French from Late Latin, as above; akin to wit ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of idea¹

C16: via Late Latin from Greek: model, pattern, notion, from idein to see

Idioms and Phrases

see bright idea ; put ideas in someone's head ; what's the idea .

Example Sentences

Gin was just a flickering idea, the way some journos muse about writing novels.

From Ozy

As a means to help their patients talk about sexual freedom and risk-taking, sex therapists were using the idea of getting out of a physical comfort zone in the outdoors.

From Outside Online

Bernard Azevedo, the terminated CPUC auditor who first alleged that $200 million was outstanding, said in an interview that he has been worried all along that the CPUC has little idea of what it is owed.

From ProPublica

Finally, because lab testing reflects only a narrow percentage of real-life crashes, we have little idea about how realistic it is.

From Outside Online

What’s particularly puzzling about Roy’s comments is this idea that mentioning Wright’s diagnosis is somehow partisan.

From Washington Post

We need to recover and grow the idea that the proper answer to bad speech is more and better speech.

From The Daily Beast

The use of slurs from both characters makes it clear just how “new” the idea of an openly gay son is even in this time.

From The Daily Beast

I like the idea of Jon Hamm… There have been discussions—though I'm not sure how serious they've been.

From The Daily Beast

But at the heart of this “Truther” conspiracy theory is the idea that “someone” wants to destroy Bill Cosby.

From The Daily Beast

“The US cannot tolerate the idea of any rival economic entity,” Stone writes.

From The Daily Beast

If you have any thoughts of influencing me or my men to join the regular Confederate army, you may as well give up the idea.

From Project Gutenberg

His idea was that there would be ample time later to order a concentration on either wing or on the centre.

From Project Gutenberg

I cannot reconcile the idea of a tender Heavenly Father with the known horrors of war, slavery, pestilence, and insanity.

From Project Gutenberg

While Benjy sat contemplating this creature, and wondering what was to be the end of it all, a bright idea occurred to him.

From Project Gutenberg

This was such a ridiculous idea that Davy threw back his head, and laughed long and loud.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• belief
• concept
• conception
• conclusion
• design
• feeling
• form
• intention
• interpretation
• meaning
• notion
• objective
• opinion
• perception
• plan
• scheme
• sense
• solution
• suggestion
• theory

When To Use

What are other ways to say idea?

An idea is any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity. How is idea different from thought, conception, and notion? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.