concept

[kon-sept]

See more synonyms for concept on Thesaurus.com

noun

a general notion or idea; conception.
an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.
a directly conceived or intuited object of thought.

adjective

functioning as a prototype or model of new product or innovation: a concept car, a concept phone.

verb (used with object)

Informal. to develop a concept of; conceive: He concepted and produced three films.

Origin of concept

1550–60; < Latin conceptum something conceived, orig. neuter of conceptus (past participle of concipere), equivalent to con- con- + cep- (variant stem of -cipere, combining form of capere to seize) + -tus past participle ending

Can be confusedconcept conception inception

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for concept

perception, conception, theory, image, thought, approach, notion, view, impression, abstraction, brainchild, apprehension, slant, supposition, twist, conceit, hypothesis, consideration, wrinkle, conceptualization

Examples from the Web for concept

Contemporary Examples of concept

But Seligman never imagined how Mitchell might put the concept to work, in part because it was so ill-suited to that purpose.
The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built
Michael Daly
December 12, 2014
“The idea was to mess with the concept of Christmas,” recalled John Law, an original Cacophony member.
Before the Bros, SantaCon Was as an Anti-Corporate Protest
David Freedlander
December 12, 2014
The creator Armando Iannucci adapted the concept for an American audience in Veep.
Doctor Who: It’s Time For a Black, Asian, or Woman Doctor
Nico Hines
December 11, 2014
One of the most romantic—and, some would say, unrealistic—phenomena of American culture is the concept of “the one.”
Swimming Owls, Jane Krakowski’s Peter Pan Live! Audition, and More Viral Videos
The Daily Beast Video
December 7, 2014
But the band grew and grew and we were a force to be reckoned with as a concept.
George Clinton on Industry ‘Mobsters’ and How Nobody Wants to Listen to a Crackhead
Curtis Stephen
November 19, 2014

Historical Examples of concept

They will test our courage, our devotion to duty, and our concept of liberty.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
I felt this the more when to the concept of Infinitude I added that of Intelligence.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
He would rather live and die in fear than change this concept of God.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
A non-loving Universal Thought was too monstrous a concept to entertain.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
To attempt to eliminate fear and retain this concept of God is vain.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King

British Dictionary definitions for concept

concept

noun

an idea, esp an abstract ideathe concepts of biology
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
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
(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 Origin for concept

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for concept

1550s, from Medieval Latin conceptum "draft, abstract," in classical Latin "(a thing) conceived," from concep-, past participle stem of concipere "to take in" (see conceive). In some 16c. cases a refashioning of conceit (perhaps to avoid negative connotations).

concept in Medicine

concept

[kŏn′sĕpt′]

An abstract idea or notion.
An explanatory principle in a scientific system.conception