inception
Americannoun
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beginning; start; commencement.
- Synonyms:
- conception, root, source, outset, origin
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British.
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the act of graduating or earning a university degree, usually a master's or doctor's degree, especially at Cambridge University.
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the graduation ceremony; commencement.
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(in science fiction) the act of instilling an idea into someone's mind by entering their dreams.
noun
Etymology
Origin of inception
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English incepcion, from Latin inceptiōn- (stem of inceptiō ), equivalent to incept(us) “begun” ( see incept) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
The inception is the beginning. Since its inception, Wikipedia has been created by its users. Inception sounds like conception, but their meanings are distinct. Conception usually refers to the moment of becoming pregnant. Inception refers more to the beginning, to entering upon an undertaking. Inception implies the start of a specific thing like a campaign or a company. Subsequent events take place after the inception. At the moment of conception, most women are at the inception of motherhood.
Vocabulary lists containing inception
"The Hill We Climb," by Amanda Gorman
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I'm New Here...
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Mahatma Gandhi's "Quit India" Speech
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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.
In November, Ermon announced he raised $50 million for a neolab called Inception focused on developing diffusion models to generate text and code.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026
“We’ve kind of molded her more towards what the audience wants,” said Katie Brown, chief content officer at Inception Point, who helps design the personalities of the AI podcasters.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025
A pioneer in this movement is Inception Point AI, which was launched in 2023 and releases about 3,000 podcasts per week with a team of just eight people.
From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025
The Oppenheimer director spent most of his career with Warner Bros, shooting the Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Dunkirk, Interstellar and other classics.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2024
The Inception was preceded by an examination for licence and by a disputation known as the Quodlibetica, at which the subject was chosen by the candidate.
From Life in the Medieval University by Rait, Robert S.
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.
