Trivia Time

Which phrase refers to a concept that exists only in theory?

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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.

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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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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

This is something that is very well-known in administrative law and in economics—this concept of agency capture or regulatory capture.

From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026

As one Bluesky user observed, the inherent idea here comes “when you have no concept of how people engage with music.”

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Initial testing for the NGC2 concept began in 2024, and officials say the Army is now starting to scale the technology across the force.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

The startup Pickle on Thursday joined the agent craze with a “personal AI you raise,” a concept popularized by Tamagotchis in the 1990s.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

SABIO, BEX: Why am I the only one who understands the concept of soundproofing?

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

In its eight episodes, “Lanterns” wrestled with an array of concepts some viewers loved and others … well, you know, fanboys and the internet.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

“New ways of valuing shares give some surprising answers…Clearly, something is going on that the old analytical concepts cannot account for.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

“You’ve got the native language as a scaffold for these young kids who are just beginning to acquire complex concepts, who are just beginning to understand the world around them,” Pompa said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

With further development, the technology could reach timescales relevant to emerging photonic concepts including time crystals and synthetic time-varying optical materials.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

NOTE: For activities that introduce these concepts to young students, please see Consonance and Dissonance Activitiesll .

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Related Words

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