concept


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

con·cept

 (kŏn′sĕpt′)
n.
1. A general idea or understanding of something: the concept of inertia; the concept of free will. See Synonyms at idea.
2. A plan or original idea: The original concept was for a building with 12 floors.
3. A unifying idea or theme, especially for a product or service: a new restaurant concept.
adj.
Having an experimental or strikingly different design, especially to test or demonstrate new features: a concept car.

[Late Latin conceptus, from Latin, past participle of concipere, to conceive; see conceive.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

concept

(ˈkɒnsɛpt)
n
1. an idea, esp an abstract idea: the concepts of biology.
2. (Philosophy) 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
3. (Philosophy) philosophy
a. the conjunction of all the characteristic features of something
b. a theoretical construct within some theory
c. a directly intuited object of thought
d. the meaning of a predicate
4. (Automotive Engineering) (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
[C16: from Latin conceptum something received or conceived, from concipere to take in, conceive]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

con•cept

(ˈkɒn sɛpt)

n.
1. a general notion or idea; conception.
2. an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.
3. a directly conceived or intuited object of thought.
4. a theme or image, esp. as embodied in the design or execution of something.
[1550–60; < Latin conceptum something conceived, orig. neuter of conceptus, past participle of concipere; see conceive]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

concept

A notion or statement of an idea, expressing how something might be done or accomplished, that may lead to an accepted procedure.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.concept - an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
idea, thought - the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about; "it was not a good idea"; "the thought never entered my mind"
notion - a general inclusive concept
category - a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme
rule, regulation - a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior; "it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast"; "short haircuts were the regulation"
attribute, dimension, property - a construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished; "self-confidence is not an endearing property"
abstract, abstraction - a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance; "he loved her only in the abstract--not in person"
quantity - the concept that something has a magnitude and can be represented in mathematical expressions by a constant or a variable
division, section, part - one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole; "the written part of the exam"; "the finance section of the company"; "the BBC's engineering division"
whole - all of something including all its component elements or parts; "Europe considered as a whole"; "the whole of American literature"
natural law, law - a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society
law of nature, law - a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature; "the laws of thermodynamics"
lexicalized concept - a concept that is expressed by a word (in some particular language)
hypothesis, theory, possibility - a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena; "a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory"; "he proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted in chemical practices"
fact - a concept whose truth can be proved; "scientific hypotheses are not facts"
linguistic rule, rule - (linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

concept

noun idea, view, image, theory, impression, notion, conception, hypothesis, abstraction, conceptualization She added that the concept of arranged marriages is misunderstood in the west.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

concept

noun
That which exists in the mind as the product of careful mental activity:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
فِكْرَه، مَفْهوم
pojempojetí
begrebidéprincip
käsitekonsepti
hugtak, heildarhugmynd
idėjakoncepcijasampratasąvokasuvokimas
jēdzienspriekšstats
koncept

concept

[ˈkɒnsept]
A. Nconcepto m
have you any concept of how hard it is?¿tienes idea de lo difícil que es?
B. CPD concept album N (Mus) → volumen m monográfico
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

concept

[ˈkɒnsɛpt] nconcept m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

concept

nBegriff m; (= conception)Vorstellung f; the concept of evilder Begriff des Bösen; our concept of the worldunser Weltbild nt; his concept of marriageseine Vorstellungen von der Ehe; the concept behind the play was gooddas Stück war gut konzipiert (geh), → das Stück war in der Anlage or vom Konzept her gut
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

concept

[ˈkɒnsɛpt] nconcetto
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

concept

(ˈkonsept) noun
an idea or theory. His design was a new concept in town-planning.
conception (kənˈsepʃən) noun
1. the act of conceiving.
2. an idea grasped or understood. We can have no conception of the size of the universe.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

con·cept

n. concepto, opinión, noción, idea.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
References in classic literature ?
92): "The generic image is never, the concept is always, a judgment.
303): "We ask ourselves the general question: 'WHAT DO WE EXPERIENCE WHEN WE THINK?' Then we do not at all attempt a preliminary determination of the concept 'thought,' but choose for analysis only such processes as everyone would describe as processes of thought." The most important thing in thinking, he says, is "awareness that..." (Bewusstheit dass), which he calls a thought.
Now that I had achieved my concept, I might as well practise it thoroughly.
I dismissed it as ignoble, remembered my concept, and did not give myself away.
Without any clearness of concept, nevertheless Jerry had a realization that they were as painfully circumstanced as himself.
Speranski went on to say that honor, l'honeur, cannot be upheld by privileges harmful to the service; that honor, l'honneur, is either a negative concept of not doing what is blameworthy or it is a source of emulation in pursuit of commendation and rewards, which recognize it.
That is, while he dominated my love and fancy, if I had been so fortunate as to have a simple concept of anything in life, I must have tried to give the expression of it some turn or tint that would remind the reader of books even before it reminded him of men.
He was swiftly mastered by the concept or sensation in him that struggled in birth-throes to receive expression and form, and then he forgot himself and where he was, and the old words - the tools of speech he knew - slipped out.
"When they want to do a thing, in business of course, they must wait till there arises in their brains, somehow, a religious, or ethical, or scientific, or philosophic, concept that the thing is right.
Concepts of good and evil are therefore, in their origin, merely a means to an end, they are expedients for acquiring power.
Still further, like a human, he could and did perceive, and such perceptions did flower in his brain as concepts, certainly not so wide and deep and recondite as those of humans, but concepts nevertheless.
For I had been elevating her too highly in my concepts of her, removing her too far from the plane of the human, and too far from me.