concept
Americannoun
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a general notion or idea; conception.
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an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.
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a directly conceived or intuited object of thought.
adjective
verb (used with object)
noun
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an idea, esp an abstract idea
the concepts of biology
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philosophy a general idea or notion that corresponds to some class of entities and that consists of the characteristic or essential features of the class
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philosophy
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the conjunction of all the characteristic features of something
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a theoretical construct within some theory
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a directly intuited object of thought
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the meaning of a predicate
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(modifier) (of a product, esp a car) created as an exercise to demonstrate the technical skills and imagination of the designers, and not intended for mass production or sale
Etymology
Origin of concept
First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin conceptum “something conceived,” originally neuter of conceptus “conceived,” past participle of concipere “to conceive,” equivalent to con- con- ( def. ) + -cipere, combining form of capere “to seize”
Explanation
A concept is a thought or idea. If you're redecorating your bedroom, you might want to start with a concept, such as "flower garden" or "outer space." It's a general idea about a thing or group of things, derived from specific instances or occurrences. It often applies to a theoretical idea in science: Einstein's contribution to the concept of relativity. Concept was borrowed from Late Latin conceptus, from Latin concipere "to take in, conceive, receive." A concept is an idea conceived in the mind. The original meaning of the verb conceive was to take sperm into the womb, and by a later extension of meaning, to take an idea into the mind.
Vocabulary lists containing concept
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 5
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 4
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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.
The concept is one of the least futuristic that Apple has implemented in an app in some time, and in fact calls back to the distant past of the pre-Twitter, pre–Instagram Reels sports web.
From Slate • Jun. 10, 2026
Throughout its history, Apple has done more innovating than inventing, and that’s the case here: The concept of conversational AI isn’t new—but this implementation certainly will be.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
From the Greek philosopher Archimedes shouting “eureka” in his bathtub to the German psychologist Karl Bühler defining the concept of an “Aha!” moment two centuries later, sudden jolts of realization can hit rather quickly.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
The production’s radical concept brings the queer audacity of Harlem Ballroom culture to these feline proceedings.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
The square root of a negative number seemed like a ridiculous concept.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
