concept

[kon-sept]

noun

1. a general notion or idea; conception.

2. an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.

3. a directly conceived or intuited object of thought.

adjective

1. functioning as a prototype or model of new product or innovation.

   a concept car,

   a concept phone.

verb (used with object)

1. Informal.,  to develop a concept of; conceive.

   He concepted and produced three films.

concept

/ ˈkɒnsɛpt /

noun

1. an idea, esp an abstract idea

   the concepts of biology

2. philosophy a general idea or notion that corresponds to some class of entities and that consists of the characteristic or essential features of the class

3. philosophy

   1. the conjunction of all the characteristic features of something

   2. a theoretical construct within some theory

   3. a directly intuited object of thought

   4. the meaning of a predicate

4. (modifier) (of a product, esp a car) created as an exercise to demonstrate the technical skills and imagination of the designers, and not intended for mass production or sale

Word History and Origins

Origin of concept¹

First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin conceptum “something conceived,” originally neuter of conceptus “conceived,” past participle of concipere “to conceive,” equivalent to con- con- ( def. ) + -cipere, combining form of capere “to seize”

Word History and Origins

Origin of concept¹

C16: from Latin conceptum something received or conceived, from concipere to take in, _conceive

Example Sentences

Where “I Think You Should Leave” operates like a jukebox, “The Chair Company” is a concept album extrapolating a single sight gag into a swirl of lunacy on par with an extended free jazz performance.

Read more on Salon

Former President Joe Biden’s sweeping loan-forgiveness effort was struck down, but some states are using the concept to push workers into fields where they are needed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“China always opposes overstretching the concept of national security and discriminatory moves that target companies from certain countries,” Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a regular press briefing Monday.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But by the end of the 1920s, those orders were being cancelled and the design concept was shelved.

Read more on BBC

The spokesperson said that for "a long time", the US had "overstretched the concept of national security, abused export control measures" and "adopted discriminatory practices against China".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• approach 
• conception 
• image 
• notion 
• perception 
• theory 
• thought 
• view