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• idea
  idea

  noun

  any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
• Idea
  Idea

  noun

  another name for Form

idea

American  

[ahy-dee-uh, ahy-deeuh] / aɪˈdi ə, aɪˈdiə /

noun

• ideas
  plural

1. any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.

2. a thought, conception, or notion.

   That is an excellent idea.

3. an impression.

   He gave me a general idea of how he plans to run the department.

4. an opinion, view, or belief.

   His ideas on raising children are certainly strange.

   Synonyms:

   judgment, sentiment

5. a plan of action; an intention.

   the idea of becoming an engineer.

6. a groundless supposition; fantasy.

7. Philosophy.

   1. a concept developed by the mind.

   2. a conception of what is desirable or ought to be; ideal.

   3. Also called form.  (initial capital letter) an archetype or pattern of which the individual objects in any natural class are imperfect copies and from which they derive their being.

   4. Kantianism. idea of pure reason.

8. Music. a theme, phrase, or figure.

9. Obsolete.

   1. a likeness.

   2. a mental image.

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idea ¹ British  

/ aɪˈdɪə /

noun

1. any content of the mind, esp the conscious mind

2. the thought of something

   the very idea appals me

3. a mental representation of something

   she's got a good idea of the layout of the factory

4. the characterization of something in general terms; concept

   the idea of a square circle is self-contradictory

5. an individual's conception of something

   his idea of honesty is not the same as yours and mine

6. the belief that something is the case

   he has the idea that what he's doing is right

7. a scheme, intention, plan, etc

   here's my idea for the sales campaign

8. a vague notion or indication; inkling

   he had no idea of what life would be like in Africa

9. significance or purpose

   the idea of the game is to discover the murderer

10. philosophy

    1. a private mental object, regarded as the immediate object of thought or perception

    2. a Platonic Idea or Form

11. music a thematic phrase or figure; motif

12. obsolete a mental image

13. to become ambitious, restless, etc

14. not what one regards as (hard work, a holiday, etc)

15. that is worth considering

16. that is preposterous, unreasonable, etc

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Idea ² British  

/ aɪˈdɪə /

noun

1. another name for Form

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idea Idioms  

1. see bright idea; put ideas in someone's head; what's the idea.

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Usage

What are other ways to say idea? An idea is any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity. How is idea different from thought, conception, and notion? Learn more on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preidea
  noun
• subidea
  noun
• idealess
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ideas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of idea

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin from Greek idéā “form, pattern,” equivalent to ide- (stem of ideîn “to see”) + -ā feminine noun ending; replacing late Middle English idee from Middle French from Late Latin, as above; akin to wit ¹

Explanation

When you suddenly know what to do and a cartoon light bulb appears above your head, you've probably just had an idea. After burning the roast and dropping the mashed potatoes, ordering pizza seemed like your best idea all night. Idea goes all the way back to idein in Greek, meaning “to see.” When someone says “Picture this!” they want to give you an idea. When you try to imagine something, idea can also mean a rough outline or a general sense: "This drawing I've made doesn't show every detail of my time machine, but it will give you some idea of how it works."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

idea Idea ideas

Quantum mechanics has long challenged the familiar idea that an object must occupy one precise place at a given moment.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

“I had this idea for a restaurant that focused on just that, and when I put it into a business plan in college, it actually got the lowest grade in the class,” he said.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

Zoox was founded in 2014 on the idea of making the first purpose-built robotaxi.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

The market initially liked the idea of a broad 10% revenue tariff to pay for tax reductions.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

My heart thumped with the idea of us seeing each other again.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

He entered Barker’s orbit in 2024 when the director’s comedy team, That’s a Bad Idea, was looking for original music and a mutual friend hit up a producer Burwell collaborated with.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Appeared in the June 11, 2026, print edition as 'Scott Pelley’s Idea of Journalism'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Since then, it has mostly been left to nature, although the Big Idea science centre opened on the peninsula about 26 years ago.

From BBC ● May 3, 2026

Siddharth Soni, 23, showed AFP a box of AI-designed jewellery, mostly in classical Indian style, made by the company Idea Jewellery which he co-founded in 2023.

From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026

I don’t get The Idea about the library room until I’m at Miz Rita’s, reading Charlie one of the Isaiah Dunn stories.

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

Plagiarism can be defined as the appropriation of someone else’s words or ideas without acknowledgment or compensation.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

Actors Gil Birmingham and Danny Huston were mentioned in Salkin’s original pitch deck as potential casting ideas for her show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

De Zerbi's ideas were copied - and he was primarily influential around how he coached build-up play.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

People, objects, and ideas passed through the community, and those interactions left physical traces that archaeologists can still identify centuries later.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

I didn’t hear anybody talking about all the crazy sister ideas of last week.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

Related Words

• belief
• concept
• conception
• conclusion
• design
• feeling
• form
• intention
• interpretation
• meaning
• notion
• objective
• opinion
• perception
• plan
• scheme
• sense
• solution
• suggestion
• theory