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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

We hadn’t been given menus, so with no idea how many courses were in store, I joined the clean-plate club with each dish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

When scientists first discussed the possibility, the idea became widely misunderstood.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

"We were so distressed and had no idea how this could have happened so quickly," Chris added.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Investigation Discovery’s four-part docuseries also looks back two decades, at an idea even worse than “The Swan.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Not only did he have no idea where he was, he had no idea where he belonged.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

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

All the while, he and creative partner Cooper Tomlinson were trialling content online, mixing comedy sketches on TikTok and Instagram with horror shorts such as "The Chair" on their YouTube channel "That's a Bad Idea".

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

She is the author of the New York Times bestseller “The Manny,” as well the novels “The Idea of Him,” “It Happens in the Hamptons” and “It’s Hot in the Hamptons.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

Not far from CEAD, in the port city of Rotterdam, a company called Raw Idea and their 'Tanaruz' brand are looking at making a similar impact in the leisure market, especially rentals.

From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025

She turned to Bright Idea #2 and pointed with her finger.

From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies

“I want to be sure that the LLC proceeds with the ideas we discussed — giving scholarships and recognition to women in engineering, etc.,” wrote Mitchell.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

"Theorists will continue to generate ideas and maybe we will do better in figuring things out without experimental data, but it will be difficult," Giddings said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

The academy’s backers stand to benefit by getting early access to tech’s next wave of talent and ideas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

He is set to meet with Prem Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor in Monaco in the coming weeks to discuss ideas.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

We imagined that we had a huge old manse like this one to decorate, and rejoiced to discover that we had the same ideas about furniture, flowers, even the same favorite colors.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

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