CONCEPT


Meaning of CONCEPT in English

con ‧ cept S3 W2 AC /ˈkɒnsept $ ˈkɑːn-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]

[ Word Family: noun : ↑ concept , ↑ conceptualization ; verb : ↑ conceptualize ; adverb : ↑ conceptually ; adjective : ↑ conceptual ]

[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: conceptum , from the past participle of concipere ; ⇨ ↑ conceive ]

an idea of how something is, or how something should be done

concept of

the concept of total patient care

the concept of infinite space

concept that

the concept that we are citizens of one world

a new concept in business travel

our basic concepts of decent human behaviour

It’s very simple, once you grasp the concept.

• • •

COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives

▪ a new concept

Part of a teacher’s job is to introduce new concepts to students.

▪ a basic/fundamental concept

The children are taught the basic concepts of mathematics.

▪ a key/central/important concept

The title tells you something about the central concept of the poem.

▪ a difficult concept

Difficult concepts can sometimes be explained by diagrams or graphs.

▪ a simple concept

Cause and effect is a fairly simple concept.

▪ the whole concept of something

Some people reject the whole concept of evolution.

▪ a general/broad concept

The book begins with some general historical concepts.

▪ an abstract concept (=based on general ideas rather than on something that exists)

He finds it hard to grasp abstract concepts.

▪ a theoretical concept (=that exists only as a theory)

The theoretical concepts of psychology, for example Freud’s ideas, are also useful in the study of literature.

▪ a legal/mathematical/marketing etc concept

Democracy is a very important political concept.

▪ an alien concept (=an idea that is very strange or that does not exist)

In many countries, queuing for a bus is an alien concept.

▪ an ambiguous/vague concept (=one that is not clear or is hard to define)

Creativity is an ambiguous concept.

■ verbs

▪ have a concept of something

Animals have no concept of their own mortality.

▪ understand a concept

The class will help you understand the basic concepts of physics.

▪ grasp a concept (=understand it)

Children often grasp new concepts more quickly than adults.

▪ introduce a concept

The first year of the course introduces the basic concepts of management.

▪ develop a concept

The Greeks developed the concept of a scientific theory.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ idea something that you think of, especially something that you could do or suggest:

I think that’s an excellent idea.

|

Let me know if you have any good ideas.

▪ thought something that comes into your mind:

The thought had entered my mind that he might be lying.

|

It was a worrying thought.

|

She was lost in her thoughts.

▪ impression the idea that you have in your mind about what someone or something is like:

What was your impression of him?

▪ inspiration a good and original idea, which makes you think of doing or creating something:

Where did you get your inspiration from for the book?

|

He suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

|

The design for the house was entirely the inspiration of the architect.

▪ brainwave British English , brainstorm American English a sudden new and clever idea, especially one that solves a problem:

I thought I’d have to sell the house, but then I had a brainwave.

▪ concept an idea of how something is, or how something should be done:

Concepts of beauty are different in different cultures.

|

the traditional concept of marriage

▪ notion an idea about life or society, especially one that is a little silly or old-fashioned:

There is no evidence to support the notion that poverty is caused by laziness.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.