What does idea mean?

Definitions for idea
aɪˈdi ə, aɪˈdiəidea

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word idea.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. idea, thoughtnoun

    the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

    "it was not a good idea"; "the thought never entered my mind"

  2. mind, ideanoun

    your intention; what you intend to do

    "he had in mind to see his old teacher"; "the idea of the game is to capture all the pieces"

  3. ideanoun

    a personal view

    "he has an idea that we don't like him"

  4. estimate, estimation, approximation, ideanoun

    an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth

    "an estimate of what it would cost"; "a rough idea how long it would take"

  5. theme, melodic theme, musical theme, ideanoun

    (music) melodic subject of a musical composition

    "the theme is announced in the first measures"; "the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it"

Wiktionary

  1. ideanoun

    An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples.

  2. ideanoun

    The conception of someone or something as representing a perfect example; an ideal.

  3. ideanoun

    The form or shape of something; a quintessential aspect or characteristic.

  4. ideanoun

    An image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory.

    The mere idea of you is enough to excite me.

  5. ideanoun

    More generally, any result of mental activity; a thought, a notion; a way of thinking.

    Ideas won't go to jail.A. Whitney Griswold (1952)

  6. ideanoun

    A conception in the mind of something to be done; a plan for doing something, an intention.

    I have an idea of how we might escape.

  7. ideanoun

    A vague or fanciful notion; a feeling or hunch; an impression.

    He had the wild idea that if he leant forward a little, he might be able to touch the mountain-top.

  8. ideanoun

    A musical theme or melodic subject.

  9. Etymology: From idea, from ἰδέα, from εἴδω.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. IDEAnoun

    Mental imagination.

    Etymology: ideé, French; ἰδέα.

    Whatsoever the mind perceives in itself, or is the immediate object of perception, thought, or understanding, that I call idea. John Locke.

    The form under which these things appear to the mind, or the result of our apprehension, is called an idea. Isaac Watts.

    Happy you that may to the saint, your only idea,
    Although simply attir'd, your manly affection utter. Philip Sidney.

    Our Saviour himself, being to set down the perfect idea of that which we are to pray and wish for on earth, did not teach to pray or wish for more than only that here it might be with us, as with them it is in heaven. Richard Hooker, b. i.

    Her sweet idea wander'd through his thoughts. Edward Fairfax.

    I did infer your lineaments,
    Being the right idea of your father,
    Both in your form and nobleness of mind. William Shakespeare, R. III.

    How good, how fair,
    Answering his great idea! John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. vii.

    If Geoffrey Chaucer by the best idea wrought,
    The fairest nymph before his eyes he set. Dryden.

ChatGPT

  1. idea

    An idea is a conceptual thought or understanding, suggestion, or plan formed in the mind. It can be the result of mental visualization, creative innovation, or reflection about a topic, issue, or problem. Ideas are not tangible but can influence actions and decisions, and be communicated to others through language, symbols, or creations.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Ideanoun

    the transcript, image, or picture of a visible object, that is formed by the mind; also, a similar image of any object whatever, whether sensible or spiritual

  2. Ideanoun

    a general notion, or a conception formed by generalization

  3. Ideanoun

    hence: Any object apprehended, conceived, or thought of, by the mind; a notion, conception, or thought; the real object that is conceived or thought of

  4. Ideanoun

    a belief, option, or doctrine; a characteristic or controlling principle; as, an essential idea; the idea of development

  5. Ideanoun

    a plan or purpose of action; intention; design

  6. Ideanoun

    a rational conception; the complete conception of an object when thought of in all its essential elements or constituents; the necessary metaphysical or constituent attributes and relations, when conceived in the abstract

  7. Ideanoun

    a fiction object or picture created by the imagination; the same when proposed as a pattern to be copied, or a standard to be reached; one of the archetypes or patterns of created things, conceived by the Platonists to have excited objectively from eternity in the mind of the Deity

Wikidata

  1. Idea

    In philosophy, the term idea has been used to cover a range of concepts. Ideas are often construed as mental representational images; i.e., images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being. The capacity to create and understand the meaning of ideas is considered to be an essential and defining feature of human beings. In a popular sense, an idea arises in a reflex, spontaneous manner, even without thinking or serious reflection, for example, when we talk about the idea of a person or a place.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Idea

    ī-dē′a, n. an image of an external object formed by the mind: a notion, thought, any product of intellectual action—of memory and imagination: an archetype of the manifold varieties of existence in the universe, belonging to the supersensible world, where reality is found and where God is (Platonic); one of the three products of the reason (the Soul, the Universe, and God) transcending the conceptions of the understanding—transcendental ideas, in the functions of mind concerned with the unification of existence (Kantian); the ideal realised, the absolute truth of which everything that exists is the expression (Hegelian).—adjs. Idē′aed, Idē′a'd, provided with an idea or ideas; Idē′al, existing in idea: mental: existing in imagination only: the highest and best conceivable, the perfect, as opposed to the real, the imperfect.—n. the highest conception of anything.—adj. Idē′aless.—n. Idealisā′tion, act of forming an idea, or of raising to the highest conception.—v.t. Idē′alise, to form an idea: to raise to the highest conception.—v.i. to form ideas.—ns. Idē′alīser; Idē′alism, the doctrine that in external perceptions the objects immediately known are ideas, that all reality is in its nature psychical: any system that considers thought or the idea as the ground either of knowledge or existence: tendency towards the highest conceivable perfection, love for or search after the best and highest: the imaginative treatment of subjects; Idē′alist, one who holds the doctrine of idealism, one who strives after the ideal: an unpractical person.—adj. Idealist′ic, pertaining to idealists or to idealism.—n. Ideal′ity, ideal state: ability and disposition to form ideals of beauty and perfection.—adv. Idē′ally, in an ideal manner: mentally.—n. Idē′alogue, one given to ideas: a theorist.—v.i. Idē′ate, to form ideas.—adj. produced by an idea.—n. the correlative or object of an idea.—n. Ideā′tion, the power of the mind for forming ideas: the exercise of such power.—adjs. Ideā′tional, Idē′ative. [L.,—Gr. ideaidein, to see.]

Editors Contribution

  1. idea

    A thought or form of inspiration.

    They had an idea to spend time with their daughter as she was living in another country.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 16, 2020  


  2. ideanoun

    The part of the mind in which initiates instinctive impulses and primary processes are manifested with the absence of difficulty or effort. 1.) A thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action. A concept or mental impression. An opinion or beleif.

    The idea I grew to create within myself is absolutely accurate before, during, and after time.

    Etymology: Thinking thoughts


    Submitted by Tehorah_Elyon on March 13, 2024  

Suggested Resources

  1. IDEA

    What does IDEA stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the IDEA acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'idea' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #445

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'idea' in Written Corpus Frequency: #371

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'idea' in Nouns Frequency: #66

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce idea?

How to say idea in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of idea in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of idea in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of idea in a Sentence

  1. Nakhane Toure:

    People were mad that a specific passage was being mentioned, but underneath it was the whole idea that the queerness made it even more perverse. It exacerbated how disgusting it was to them in their eyes.

  2. Ron Hepper:

    I would love to know who found it in Russia and turned it in, but we have no idea, it's just been very emotional and just very touching that this all transpired the way it did.

  3. Corey Brettschneider:

    Mueller was sending a message to Speaker Pelosi and the House that they are constitutionally obligated to act, if the House fails to begin impeachment proceedings that would be allowing the President to get away with a crime and essentially would place him above the law, the inverse of the idea that we are subject to the rule of law.

  4. Brian Kilmeade:

    There is going to be an unscripted sense with this show. It’s going to be more open. We’re going to have a news tool where we go over five stories with another Fox talent, stories that aren’t necessarily in the headlines. I have no idea how that’s going to go, I’m not going to know my stories, and they’re not going to know mine, if there is a great movie out and the star is available, The Rock or Kevin James is around … somebody like that, I want them on.

  5. Eric Topol:

    This multiple strains idea has to be very much debunked, we know there is only one strain.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

idea#1#1234#10000

Translations for idea

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for idea »

Translation

Find a translation for the idea definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"idea." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/idea>.

Discuss these idea definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for idea? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    idea

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    like a pulp or overripe; not having stiffness
    A sought
    B busy
    C squashy
    D aligned

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for idea: