concept

concept — noun

1. a general idea that pulls together different facts, details, or experiences into

1.nounB2
Definition

a general idea that pulls together different facts, details, or experiences into a single way of understanding something

Example

Our marketing team came up with a new **concept** for promoting the product online.

concept + for + noun phrase (purpose)

Ravindra found the **concept** of gravity hard to explain to his younger sister.

Common collocations
  • basic concept
  • key concept
  • central concept
  • abstract concept
  • concept of democracy
  • concept of time
Synonyms
  • idea

    more general and everyday; 'concept' is more structured and abstract

  • notion

    vaguer or more casual than 'concept', often based on incomplete understanding

  • theory

    a more formal, evidence-based system of ideas meant to explain something

Antonyms
  • fact

    a concept is a mental framework; a fact is a verifiable piece of information

Grammar Patterns

concept + of + noun phrase

concept + that-clause

Common Mistakes

I have a concept to go to the beach.
I have an idea to go to the beach.
'concept' is for broader, more abstract frameworks, not casual plans.
Do you understand the concept? It is that water boils at 100 degrees.
Do you understand the concept? The idea is that water boils at 100 degrees.
Avoid using 'concept' and then restating it as if the concept is the sentence itself.

2. to be completely unable to understand or imagine something because you have neve

2.nounB2
Definition

to be completely unable to understand or imagine something because you have never experienced it or thought about it

Example

Heather had no **concept** of how expensive raising a child is until she had her own.

have no concept of + how-clause

City-dwellers often have no **concept** of how quiet the countryside is at night.

have no concept of + how + adjective

Common collocations
  • have no concept of
  • no concept of time
  • no concept of danger
  • no concept of cost
Synonyms
  • clueless about

    informal; stronger and more colloquial than 'have no concept of'

  • unaware of

    less emphatic; simply means not knowing, not necessarily unable to imagine

Antonyms
  • aware of

    the opposite — knowing or understanding that something exists or is happening

Grammar Patterns

have no concept of + noun phrase

Usage Note

Almost always appears in the negative construction 'have no concept of'. The affirmative form ('have a concept of') is rare and unnatural in this sense — use 'understand' instead.

Common Mistakes

I have no concept about his feelings.
I have no concept of his feelings.
Always use 'of', not 'about', after 'concept' in this construction.
She has no concept how hard the exam is.
She has no concept of how hard the exam is.
'of' is required before the question-word clause.

concept — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Idea is the broadest and most everyday word — you have an idea for dinner or an idea about how to fix a bike. Concept is more structured and abstract, typically used for frameworks you analyse or teach, such as the concept of freedom or the concept of gravity. Notion is vaguer and often based on incomplete understanding ('She had a vague notion that the meeting was next week'). Thought covers anything that passes through the mind, from a fleeting impression to a considered opinion, but it lacks the systematic quality of a concept. Theory is the most formal: it is a set of principles developed to explain something, supported by evidence or reasoning. For example, in a classroom you explain the concept of photosynthesis (the general idea), but in a lab you test a theory about how it actually works.

idea ↗notion ↗thoughttheory ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • concept of time
  • concept of self
  • concept development
  • proof of concept

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Concept comes from the Latin verb concipere, meaning 'to take in' or 'to receive'. The parts are com- (together) and capere (to take). Late Latin conceptus referred to 'something mentally grasped'. The word entered English in the mid-1500s through French concept, first used in philosophy and logic before spreading to everyday language. It is a close relative of 'conceive' and 'conception'.