idea
Listen:Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
idea/ʌɪˈdɪə/
▶noun
- 1 a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action.
■ a mental impression.
■ a belief.
- 2 (the idea) the aim or purpose of an action.
- 3 Philosophy (in Platonic thought) an eternally existing pattern of which individual things in any class are imperfect copies.
■ (in Kantian thought) a concept of pure reason, not empirically based in experience.
– phrases
get (or give someone) ideas informal become (or make someone) ambitious, conceited, or tempted to do something.
have no idea informal not know at all.
that's the idea informal that's right.
the very idea! informal an exclamation of disapproval or disagreement.
get (or give someone) ideas informal become (or make someone) ambitious, conceited, or tempted to do something.
have no idea informal not know at all.
that's the idea informal that's right.
the very idea! informal an exclamation of disapproval or disagreement.
– origin ME: via L. from Gk idea ‘form, pattern’, from the base of idein ‘to see’.
'idea' also found in these Oxford entries:
abstract
- abstraction
- adumbrate
- antonomasia
- apostle
- argue
- articulate
- articulation
- augmentative
- author
- autosuggestion
- avatar
- Ayurveda
- bam
- bandy
- basis
- bat
- baulk
- besides
- board
- born-again
- bounce
- brainchild
- brainstorm
- brainwave
- brand new
- bring
- Buddhism
- bum-bailiff
- canvass
- card
- carry
- chamcha
- clou
- clutch
- concept
- conception
- conceptualize
- connotation
- connote
- construct
- contango
- context
- convey
- co-opt
- debunk
- deceptively
- development
- disabuse
- discredit
