conclude

American  

[kuhn-klood] / kənˈklud /

verb (used with object)

• concludes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• concluded,
  past participle,  past
• concluding
  present participle

1. to bring to an end; finish; terminate.

   to conclude a speech with a quotation from the Bible.

2. to say in conclusion.

   At the end of the speech he concluded that we had been a fine audience.

3. to bring to a decision or settlement; settle or arrange finally.

   to conclude a treaty.

4. to determine by reasoning; deduce; infer.

   They studied the document and concluded that the author must have been an eyewitness.

5. to decide, determine, or resolve.

   He concluded that he would go no matter what the weather.

6. Obsolete.

   1. to shut up or enclose.

   2. to restrict or confine.

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verb (used without object)

• concludes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• concluded,
  past participle,  past
• concluding
  present participle

1. to come to an end; finish.

   The meeting concluded at ten o'clock.

2. to arrive at an opinion or judgment; come to a decision; decide.

   The jury concluded to set the accused free.

conclude British  

/ kənˈkluːd /

verb

1. (also intr) to come or cause to come to an end or conclusion

2. (takes a clause as object) to decide by reasoning; deduce

   the judge concluded that the witness had told the truth

3. to arrange finally; settle

   to conclude a treaty

   it was concluded that he should go

4. obsolete to confine

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• concluder
  noun
• preconclude
  verb (used with object)
• concludable
  adjective
• concludible
  adjective
• nonconcluding
  adjective
• unconcludable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• concluding
  present
• concluded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• conclude
  simple
• concludes
  simple
• have concluded
  perfect
• has concluded
  perfect
• am concluding
  progressive
• are concluding
  progressive
• is concluding
  progressive
• have been concluding
  perfect progressive
• has been concluding
  perfect progressive

Past

• concluded
  simple
• had concluded
  perfect
• was concluding
  progressive
• were concluding
  progressive
• had been concluding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will conclude
  simple
• will have concluded
  perfect
• will be concluding
  progressive
• will have been concluding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of conclude

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin conclūdere “to close, end an argument,” equivalent to con- con- + -clūdere, combining form of claudere “to close ”

Explanation

The verb conclude means two related things: coming to a decision, and bringing to a close. Conclude is related to the word close, which is related to an old Latin word for "barrier" or "bolt" — the kind you put on a door. When you conclude something, it's as though you're pulling a door shut and bolting it. If your girlfriend concludes an argument by leaving the room and slamming the door, you can conclude that she's angry at you.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conclude concludes concluded concluding

Watched by new Test coach Stephen Fleming, England once again outclassed the tourists to conclude a one-sided series played on the fringe of autumn.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

And Newsom typically spurns laws that make changes to the state budget after those fiscal discussions conclude in the first half of the calendar year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

While the review is yet to conclude, the partner has indicated it expects to close the majority of its stores in 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Despite those limitations, the researchers conclude, "Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher occurrence of moderate to severe postoperative pain and increased opioid consumption in patients undergoing unilateral modified radical mastectomy."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

Enquiries based on this premise are bound to conclude that the claims made on behalf of well-founded beliefs are excessive because that conclusion is built into the methodology.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The series concludes at Old Trafford on Saturday and is followed by three one-day internationals.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

And it concludes, in another deft turn, as a poignant character study.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

“I truly believe that going out and playing shows keeps us young,” concludes Benante.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Even under this generous standard, though, Saylor concludes that the administration’s case does not hold up.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Again, Mahler is all-present in the first and subsequent movements, but this time there is no doubt whatever as to the sincerity of the triumph with which the finale concludes.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

A police investigation into the deaths of three sisters in the sea off the coast of Brighton has concluded, with no evidence found of criminality or third-party involvement.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

After years of working with Eagle and UCLA, the Natural History Museum concluded that the improved technology could produce valuable results while requiring only very small samples.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

But Berkshire is an unusual company, and his father concluded long ago that he was best equipped to preserve what made Berkshire different, even after Warren Buffett was no longer there to lead it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

"We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world. And we will now build our shared future as well," she concluded.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

He turned toward home, his exploring adventure concluded.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

The arbitration-based courtroom show premiered in 1995 and aired for 25 seasons before concluding in 2021.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Each of the statement’s six concluding points mentions “the university.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

This is a crucial distinction because many commentators in effect have been focusing only on the breadth of Wall Street’s bullishness, and concluding that a top must be near.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

If that were true, astronomers could have been misreading the supernova data and incorrectly concluding that cosmic expansion was speeding up when it was actually slowing.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026

She listened to him for a minute before concluding that it was a prank call.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• accomplish
• achieve
• carry out
• confirm
• decide
• determine
• establish
• rule
• work out