conclude
Americanverb (used with object)
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concludes,
present (3rd person singular)
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concluded,
past participle, past
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concluding
present participle
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to bring to an end; finish; terminate.
to conclude a speech with a quotation from the Bible.
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to say in conclusion.
At the end of the speech he concluded that we had been a fine audience.
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to bring to a decision or settlement; settle or arrange finally.
to conclude a treaty.
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to determine by reasoning; deduce; infer.
They studied the document and concluded that the author must have been an eyewitness.
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to decide, determine, or resolve.
He concluded that he would go no matter what the weather.
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Obsolete.
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to shut up or enclose.
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to restrict or confine.
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verb (used without object)
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concludes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
concluded,
past participle, past
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concluding
present participle
verb
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(also intr) to come or cause to come to an end or conclusion
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(takes a clause as object) to decide by reasoning; deduce
the judge concluded that the witness had told the truth
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to arrange finally; settle
to conclude a treaty
it was concluded that he should go
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obsolete to confine
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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concludernoun
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preconcludeverb (used with object)
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concludableadjective
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concludibleadjective
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nonconcludingadjective
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unconcludableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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concludesimple
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concludessimple
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have concludedperfect
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has concludedperfect
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am concludingprogressive
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are concludingprogressive
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is concludingprogressive
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have been concludingperfect progressive
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has been concludingperfect progressive
Past
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concludedsimple
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had concludedperfect
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was concludingprogressive
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were concludingprogressive
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had been concludingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of conclude
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin conclūdere “to close, end an argument,” equivalent to con- con- + -clūdere, combining form of claudere “to close ”
Explanation
The verb conclude means two related things: coming to a decision, and bringing to a close. Conclude is related to the word close, which is related to an old Latin word for "barrier" or "bolt" — the kind you put on a door. When you conclude something, it's as though you're pulling a door shut and bolting it. If your girlfriend concludes an argument by leaving the room and slamming the door, you can conclude that she's angry at you.
Vocabulary lists containing conclude
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 21-30
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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 Premier League side want to conclude the transfer this week after agreeing to sell Rodri to Barcelona.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
A senior Latvian official said the drone hadn’t been found, and that the country wouldn’t rush to conclude where it came from.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
No charges have been filed, and investigations can conclude without charges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Ultimately, they conclude, finding a new constitutional meaning that actually embraces the public’s true understanding of the document requires returning to our old understanding.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Now you might conclude from this that I don’t much admire the Park Service and its people, and that’s not quite so.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
“Paramount will have incurred $1.3 billion in unrecoverable financial losses as a result of ticking fees by the time post-trial briefing concludes, to say nothing of incremental financing fees and delayed synergies,” the motion said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
And, whatever it concludes, the Virginia investigation is a reminder that, as the court observed in the Walker case, all of us have a duty to secure “justice for all persons, whether living or deceased.”
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
"Focusing on vascular and metabolic risk factors can still help reduce the combined effects of several brain changes that occur simultaneously," he concludes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
The Petal singer said that her current tour, which concludes on 1 September following a 10-night run in London, had been "one of the most healing, beautiful, correct and special experiences" of her life.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
“Muriel? Why would she...oh, that’s what that was! Ruth, the agreement was for a single piece of information. But no, I didn’t catch sight of her. I believe this concludes our arrangement.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Lee has also said he is ready for talks with Pyongyang without preconditions, including on formally ending the Korean War, which concluded with an armistice.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
He concluded it’s a rising sun,” said Duffy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The first is whether cloud companies start reporting a separate lifespan for these chips, which would mean their accountants concluded the hardware is genuinely different.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Nevertheless, what we present means that deposits that were previously considered 'disordered' can be reinterpreted," concluded Carballo-Pérez.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
Lister concluded that carbolic acid was the best at preventing infection.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
“Markets treated the report as a meaningful challenge to near term Fed rate hike expectations, effectively concluding the Fed has time on its side,” National Australia Bank senior FX strategist Rodrigo Catril said in commentary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
In January 2025 an Air Busan plane was destroyed on the tarmac in Gimhae Airport in South Korea, with investigators concluding a power bank battery pack left in an overhead luggage compartment was the culprit.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The report, completed within weeks, laid the blame on “defective foundations,” concluding that gravity dams were safe if built on bedrock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Olympian David Hearn after concluding that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by a flawed renovation rather than vandalism.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Police had quick success in investigating the Pittman murder, rapidly concluding that Ralph Myers had been involved.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
