concept
Americannoun
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a general notion or idea; conception.
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an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.
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a directly conceived or intuited object of thought.
adjective
verb (used with object)
noun
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an idea, esp an abstract idea
the concepts of biology
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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
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philosophy
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the conjunction of all the characteristic features of something
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a theoretical construct within some theory
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a directly intuited object of thought
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the meaning of a predicate
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(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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing concept
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 5
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 4
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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.
See Examples For:
The trouble is, the MBacc itself can be quite a difficult concept to get your head around if you're not familiar with it.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
As Amicus delved into popular constitutionalism—the process by which ordinary people shape constitutional meaning—we came across Lyle Cherneff’s work on a largely forgotten American story that captures the concept in action.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
The concept centers on the idea of accidentally slipping out of normal reality and becoming trapped in this monotonous, labyrinthine environment with no clear exit.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
“I don’t think the United States administration really has a clear strategic concept of what it is trying to do.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
In social studies, in a unit on basic economics, Jake helped Mr. Lyons by describing the difference between satisfying wants and meeting needs to a group that just couldn’t grasp the concept.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
"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
It’s the small details, which we could be here all day enumerating, and the delivery, rather than the big concepts, that bring the show alive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Future research will hopefully be able to confirm concepts developed in our study in human memory and show their implication in dementia."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
At first, he said, he was just trying to explain financial concepts to them and “make things feel less intimidating.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
In most of physics and chemistry the concepts of “ultimate cause,” “purpose,” and “function” are meaningless, yet they are essential to understanding living systems in general and human activities in particular.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
