concoct
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to make by combining different ingredients
-
to invent; make up; contrive
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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concoctsimple
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concoctssimple
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have concoctedperfect
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has concoctedperfect
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am concoctingprogressive
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are concoctingprogressive
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is concoctingprogressive
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have been concoctingperfect progressive
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has been concoctingperfect progressive
Past
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concoctedsimple
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had concoctedperfect
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was concoctingprogressive
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were concoctingprogressive
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had been concoctingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of concoct
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin concoctus (past participle of concoquere “to cook together”), equivalent to con- con- + coc-, variant stem of coquere “to boil, cook 1 ” from Greek péptein; see pepsin, peptic) + -tus past participle ending
Explanation
When you concoct something, you mix up different ingredients. If you want to become a mad scientist or a wizard, you'll have to learn how to concoct strange potions. If the word concoction makes you think of steaming caldrons or liquids bubbling in test tubes, you’ll be amused to know that it comes from a Latin word for “digestion.” Yum! On summer days, children sometimes concoct imaginative stews from grass, leaves and dirt. They may also concoct lies to explain why they tried feeding such concoctions to their little sister.
Vocabulary lists containing concoct
NAEP Test Words
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Excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
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And Then There Were None
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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.
One way seems to be through the “distributed attentional focus” that music inspires, where we concoct images in time with the sound.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Rather, he’s using a shoestring budget to concoct left-of-center sights that feel like a peek into a specific Los Angeles netherworld.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
We live and breathe stories: We concoct them; we relate them; we react to them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
“He then used those records to concoct fanciful allegations of mortgage fraud, which he referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 26, 2025
And still I sit in my room, trying to concoct a way out of this place.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
