concept

American  

[kon-sept] / ˈkɒn sɛpt /

noun

• concepts
  plural

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 British  

/ 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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• concepts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of concept

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”

Explanation

A concept is a thought or idea. If you're redecorating your bedroom, you might want to start with a concept, such as "flower garden" or "outer space." It's a general idea about a thing or group of things, derived from specific instances or occurrences. It often applies to a theoretical idea in science: Einstein's contribution to the concept of relativity. Concept was borrowed from Late Latin conceptus, from Latin concipere "to take in, conceive, receive." A concept is an idea conceived in the mind. The original meaning of the verb conceive was to take sperm into the womb, and by a later extension of meaning, to take an idea into the mind.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

concept concepts

Watch the video to learn more about the “Texas hedge” concept and how it applied to the near-implosion of Situational Awareness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

For proof of concept, Quiñones proposed using a February 2021 public voter list he’d obtained for New Jersey and running it through HSI’s databases.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

James Watt's steam engine is one famous example, but the same basic concept remains central to modern transportation and electricity production, powering cars, ships, planes and many power plants.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

For them, the concept of the high-priced reliever should be an oxymoron.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The concept of uncertainty pertains to scientists’ ability to describe the properties of a particle.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Many women say social media introduced them to concepts such as cycle syncing and the different phases of the menstrual cycle.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Semantic structure refers to how ideas, words, and concepts are connected within a piece of language.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

"Our chat book is not a library of books -- it's a library of concepts and ideas and facts," says founder Brian Yang.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Depending on the length of the engagement, they might build proof of concepts or help fully deploy solutions across the organization, Jarvis said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Soon-Lee’s got her iPad propped up, and it’s been running a steady supply of YouTube videos demonstrating the new concepts we need to learn.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

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