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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

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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

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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

"That's when the idea of a wind turbine came to mind. Why not harness the wind? So we salvaged parts from the rubble."

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

The frightening truth is that I have no clear idea where I will go or what I will do when I can no longer care for myself.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor also pushed back against the idea that enforcing antidiscrimination laws against recipients of state funds is itself discrimination.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

The CEO got the idea for creating a food-delivery company from a visit to a small California bakery about a decade ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

The room tilts as my brain tries to piece together the preposterous idea she’s proposing.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

"The biggest beneficiary of this shift could be Vodafone Idea," says Shah.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

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

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

Also, with anchor customer Vodafone Idea possibly raising funds to expand 4G capacity and roll out 4G and 5G networks, this would add new tenancies to Indus Towers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

Someone had scribbled “First and Worst Idea Ever” on the front of the envelope with a Magic Marker.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Take one such example: Hillsdale College in Michigan has been promoting the study of Western civilization and other classical ideas for more than 180 years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

"Your ideas and your creativity are a lot more valued because you actually get to implement those firsthand, and the responsibility you take on is a lot greater because of that," says London-based Clinton, 23.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

For all Schrager’s ideas of community and the club, the Eckhaus Latta party was proof of concept: A preview for how L.A. will use the space in months to come.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Because of this more scholarly orientation, his most extreme ideas sound, at first glance, a little wonky.

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026

Right up until the collapse, Lippmann would pepper them with agitprop about the housing market, and his own ideas of which subprime mortgage bonds his customers should bet against.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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Related Words

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• concept
• conception
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