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• idea
  idea

  noun

  any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
• Idea
  Idea

  noun

  another name for Form

idea

American  

[ahy-dee-uh, ahy-deeuh] / aɪˈdi ə, aɪˈdiə /

noun

• ideas
  plural

1. any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.

2. a thought, conception, or notion.

   That is an excellent idea.

3. an impression.

   He gave me a general idea of how he plans to run the department.

4. an opinion, view, or belief.

   His ideas on raising children are certainly strange.

   Synonyms:

   judgment, sentiment

5. a plan of action; an intention.

   the idea of becoming an engineer.

6. a groundless supposition; fantasy.

7. Philosophy.

   1. a concept developed by the mind.

   2. a conception of what is desirable or ought to be; ideal.

   3. Also called form. (initial capital letter) an archetype or pattern of which the individual objects in any natural class are imperfect copies and from which they derive their being.

   4. Kantianism. idea of pure reason.

8. Music. a theme, phrase, or figure.

9. Obsolete.

   1. a likeness.

   2. a mental image.

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idea ¹ British  

/ aɪˈdɪə /

noun

1. any content of the mind, esp the conscious mind

2. the thought of something

   the very idea appals me

3. a mental representation of something

   she's got a good idea of the layout of the factory

4. the characterization of something in general terms; concept

   the idea of a square circle is self-contradictory

5. an individual's conception of something

   his idea of honesty is not the same as yours and mine

6. the belief that something is the case

   he has the idea that what he's doing is right

7. a scheme, intention, plan, etc

   here's my idea for the sales campaign

8. a vague notion or indication; inkling

   he had no idea of what life would be like in Africa

9. significance or purpose

   the idea of the game is to discover the murderer

10. philosophy

    1. a private mental object, regarded as the immediate object of thought or perception

    2. a Platonic Idea or Form

11. music a thematic phrase or figure; motif

12. obsolete a mental image

13. to become ambitious, restless, etc

14. not what one regards as (hard work, a holiday, etc)

15. that is worth considering

16. that is preposterous, unreasonable, etc

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Idea ² British  

/ aɪˈdɪə /

noun

1. another name for Form

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idea Idioms  

1. see bright idea; put ideas in someone's head; what's the idea.

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Usage

What are other ways to say idea? An idea is any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity. How is idea different from thought, conception, and notion? Learn more on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preidea
  noun
• subidea
  noun
• idealess
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ideas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of idea

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin from Greek idéā “form, pattern,” equivalent to ide- (stem of ideîn “to see”) + -ā feminine noun ending; replacing late Middle English idee from Middle French from Late Latin, as above; akin to wit ¹

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Explanation

When you suddenly know what to do and a cartoon light bulb appears above your head, you've probably just had an idea. After burning the roast and dropping the mashed potatoes, ordering pizza seemed like your best idea all night. Idea goes all the way back to idein in Greek, meaning “to see.” When someone says “Picture this!” they want to give you an idea. When you try to imagine something, idea can also mean a rough outline or a general sense: "This drawing I've made doesn't show every detail of my time machine, but it will give you some idea of how it works."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

idea Idea ideas

Zelensky agreed it was a good idea, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

“Raising the idea of guardrails and accountability, if it improves the program, I’m all for it,” said Sam Wilson, a senior vehicle analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

Their findings challenge the idea that the disaster either completely wiped out nearby communities or left them largely unaffected.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity Investments, told MarketWatch that the idea that tech stocks are immune to the growing macro pressures isn’t quite right.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 18, 2026

I have no idea how far we walked that first day of our long march—probably only a few kilometers, but it felt like a hundred.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Siddharth Soni, 23, showed AFP a box of AI-designed jewellery, mostly in classical Indian style, made by the company Idea Jewellery which he co-founded in 2023.

From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026

The Big Idea at the bottom of it is novel enough, but even though it has real-world precedents, it does inch across the line between clever and goofy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026

Appeared in the January 3, 2026, print edition as 'Ozempic Melted Away Weight—and the Idea of ‘Body Positivity’'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

Not far from CEAD, in the port city of Rotterdam, a company called Raw Idea and their 'Tanaruz' brand are looking at making a similar impact in the leisure market, especially rentals.

From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025

The Idea hits me so hard, I stop reading, and Charlie elbows me.

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

But Holmes doesn’t grasp where her ideas end, and someone else’s influence begins.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

What’s more, ideas like Mélenchon’s aren’t the sole province of Socialists or even Europeans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

She thought he was going to continue to be a bull in a china shop, big swings and big ideas and asking for forgiveness, not permission.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"He looked like a manager who was out of ideas," McCarthy told BBC Sport.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Maybe that fact was kept out of our training so cadets wouldn’t get any funny ideas.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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Related Words

• belief
• concept
• conception
• conclusion
• design
• feeling
• form
• intention
• interpretation
• meaning
• notion
• objective
• opinion
• perception
• plan
• scheme
• sense
• solution
• suggestion
• theory

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