conclude

American  

[kuhn-klood] / kənˈklud /

verb (used with object)

concluded, concluding

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)

concluded, concluding

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

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

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

After three seasons on the streaming giant, the British coming-of-age series will conclude with a film later this year.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

But those who conclude that the petrodollar is already in its death throes are reading the map upside down.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

"This work effectively rules out explanations of the Hubble tension that rely on a single overlooked error in local distance measurements," the authors conclude.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

To the extent other leaders mull this over, many will conclude that it’s time to develop their own nuclear weapons.

From Slate • Apr. 8, 2026

From this, linguists conclude that ten was the basic unit in the Germanic protolanguages that English came from, and thus those people used a base-10 number system.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

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