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”

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

It developed high-tech weapons necessary to implement Defense Secretary Harold Brown’s concept of “Assault Breaker,” including stealth technology and precision-guided munitions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

The phrase 'floaters and anchors' has been used to help explain this concept.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Burke and her team applied this concept to ancient humans.

From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026

They were giving out black bandannas with a drawing of Cherie Lee’s saloon emblazoned with Shaboozey “The Outlaw Cherie Lee,” the name of his forthcoming concept album.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

According to this concept you first needed to blast out of the atmosphere and stabilize a mother spacecraft inside of Earth’s orbit.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

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