concept

American  

[kon-sept] / ˈkɒn sɛpt /

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.

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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

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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”

Example Sentences

"I've never been able to deal with change so I think the concept of being the only child and then having a sibling, I found that quite hard," she said.

From BBC

So important is the concept, especially to the conduct of monetary policy, that Federal Reserve officials have mentioned it nearly four dozen times in the past five weeks in public remarks and speeches.

From Barron's

Unable to answer those questions, Kurosawa moved on from the concept, though we learn that the number of figures referred to in the title “Seven Samurai” was not chosen with particular care.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sun, the project's principal investigator, said the concept was inspired by cephalopods such as octopuses, which can rapidly alter the look and texture of their skin.

From Science Daily

“Musk has got to find another concept to build his legacy on.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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