any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
a thought, conception, or notion.
That is an excellent idea.
an impression.
He gave me a general idea of how he plans to run the department.
an opinion, view, or belief.
His ideas on raising children are certainly strange.
a plan of action; an intention.
the idea of becoming an engineer.
a groundless supposition; fantasy.
Philosophy.
a concept developed by the mind.
a conception of what is desirable or ought to be; ideal.
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.
Kantianism. idea of pure reason.
Music. a theme, phrase, or figure.
Obsolete.
a likeness.
a mental image.
any content of the mind, esp the conscious mind
the thought of something
the very idea appals me
a mental representation of something
she's got a good idea of the layout of the factory
the characterization of something in general terms; concept
the idea of a square circle is self-contradictory
an individual's conception of something
his idea of honesty is not the same as yours and mine
the belief that something is the case
he has the idea that what he's doing is right
a scheme, intention, plan, etc
here's my idea for the sales campaign
a vague notion or indication; inkling
he had no idea of what life would be like in Africa
significance or purpose
the idea of the game is to discover the murderer
philosophy
a private mental object, regarded as the immediate object of thought or perception
a Platonic Idea or Form
music a thematic phrase or figure; motif
obsolete a mental image
to become ambitious, restless, etc
not what one regards as (hard work, a holiday, etc)
that is worth considering
that is preposterous, unreasonable, etc
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.
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
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their fans spent the holiday weekend pushing back against the idea that the franchise would never be more than a bargain option amid rising prices all around them.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026
They came up with the idea during a night in the pub after Mayall had just done a week-long stint reading George's Marvellous Medicine on Jackanory.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
"The idea that we can control apoB at the RNA level represents a major shift in how we think about cholesterol regulation," Dr. Zhang said.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
WSJ: Is it a good idea for people to ask commercial LLMs about the truth of conspiracy theories?
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
“For practice,” Trey added, as if that made the idea any more reasonable.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
