idea

/aɪˈdiə/

/aɪˈdɪə/

Other forms: ideas

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."

Definitions of idea

1. noun

   the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
   “it was not a good idea”

   synonyms: thought

   types:

   inspiration

   arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity

   cogitation

   a carefully considered thought about something

   concept, conception, construct

   an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances

   preoccupation

   an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention

   misconception

   an incorrect conception

   plan, program, programme

   a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished

   figment

   a contrived or fantastic idea

   generalisation, generality, generalization

   an idea or conclusion having general application

   suggestion

   an idea that is suggested

   belief, feeling, impression, notion, opinion

   a vague idea in which some confidence is placed

   reaction

   an idea evoked by some experience

   theorem

   an idea accepted as a demonstrable truth

   notion, whim, whimsey, whimsy

   an odd or fanciful or capricious idea

   meaning, substance

   the idea that is intended

   burden

   the central idea that is expanded in a document or discourse

   motif, theme

   a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work

   ideal

   the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain

   idealisation, idealization

   something that exists only as an idea

   keynote

   a fundamental or central idea

   kink

   an eccentric idea

   fixation, idee fixe, obsession

   an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone

   hang-up

   an emotional preoccupation

   hobbyhorse

   a topic to which one constantly reverts

   germ, seed, source

   anything that provides inspiration for later work

   mother

   a condition that is the inspiration for an activity or situation

   afflatus

   a strong creative impulse; divine inspiration

   conceptualisation, conceptuality, conceptualization

   an elaborated concept

   notion

   a general inclusive concept

   self-absorption

   preoccupation with yourself to the exclusion of everything else

   category

   a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme

   regulation, rule

   a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior

   attribute, dimension, property

   a construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished

   abstract, abstraction

   a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance

   quantity

   the concept that something has a magnitude and can be represented in mathematical expressions by a constant or a variable

   division, part, section

   one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole

   whole

   all of something including all its component elements or parts

   law, natural law

   a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society

   law, law of nature

   a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature

   lexicalized concept

   a concept that is expressed by a word (in some particular language)

   hypothesis, possibility, theory

   a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena

   fact

   a concept whose truth can be proved

   audit program, audit programme

   a listing of audit procedures to be performed in completing an audit

   outline, schema, scheme

   a schematic or preliminary plan

   fallacy, false belief

   a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning

   erroneous belief, error

   a misconception resulting from incorrect information

   self-deceit, self-deception

   a misconception that is favorable to the person who holds it

   misapprehension, mistake, misunderstanding

   an understanding of something that is not correct

   fancy, fantasy, illusion, phantasy

   something many people believe that is false

   delusion, hallucination

   a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea

   master plan

   a long-term outline of a project or government function

   blueprint, design, pattern

   something intended as a guide for making something else

   plan of action

   a plan for actively doing something

   regime, regimen

   (medicine) a systematic plan for therapy (often including diet)

   project, projection

   a planned undertaking

   agenda, docket, schedule

   a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to

   pension account, pension plan, retirement account, retirement plan, retirement program, retirement savings account, retirement savings plan

   a plan for setting aside money to be spent after retirement

   employee savings plan

   a plan that allows employees to contribute to an investment pool managed the employer

   guideline, road map

   a detailed plan or explanation to guide you in setting standards or determining a course of action

   stock purchase plan

   an organized plan for employees of a company to buy shares of its stock

   principle, rule, tenet

   a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct

   glimmer, glimmering, inkling, intimation

   a slight suggestion or vague understanding

   posthypnotic suggestion

   a suggestion that is made to a person who is hypnotized that specifies an action he will perform (usually in response to a cue) after he has awakened

   presence

   the impression that something is present

   effect

   an impression (especially one that is artificial or contrived)

   first blush

   at the first glimpse or impression

   Bayes' theorem

   (statistics) a theorem describing how the conditional probability of a set of possible causes for a given observed event can be computed from knowledge of the probability of each cause and the conditional probability of the outcome of each cause

   hunch, intuition, suspicion

   an impression that something might be the case

   topos

   a traditional theme or motif or literary convention

   semantics

   the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text

   implication, import, significance, subtext

   a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred

   strain, tenor

   the general meaning or substance of an utterance

   undercurrent, undertone

   a subdued emotional quality underlying an utterance; implicit meaning

   denotation, extension, reference

   the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to

   reference

   the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to

   connotation

   an idea that is implied or suggested

   value

   an ideal accepted by some individual or group

   beau ideal, idol, paragon, perfection

   an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept

   criterion, standard

   the ideal in terms of which something can be judged

   example, exemplar, good example, model

   something to be imitated

   ego ideal

   (psychoanalysis) the part of the ego that contains an ideal of personal excellence toward which a person strives

   mirage

   something illusory and unattainable

   unsoundness

   a misconception that is fallacious and not true or valid

   linguistic rule, rule

   (linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice

   budget

   a summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them

   type of:

   cognitive content, content, mental object

   the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned
2. noun

   a personal view
   “he has an idea that we don't like him”

   type of:

   opinion, persuasion, reckoning, sentiment, thought, view

   a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
3. noun

   your intention; what you intend to do
   “the idea of the game is to capture all the pieces”

   synonyms: mind

   type of:

   aim, design, intent, intention, mission, purpose

   an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
4. noun

   an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth
   “a rough idea how long it would take”

   synonyms: approximation, estimate, estimation

   types:

   scalage

   estimation of the amount of lumber in a log

   credit, credit rating

   an estimate, based on previous dealings, of a person's or an organization's ability to fulfill their financial commitments

   dead reckoning, guess, guessing, guesswork, shot

   an estimate based on little or no information

   guesstimate, guestimate

   an estimate that combines reasoning with guessing

   overestimate, overestimation, overrating, overreckoning

   a calculation that results in an estimate that is too high

   underestimate, underestimation, underrating, underreckoning

   an estimation that is too low; an estimate that is less than the true or actual value

   type of:

   calculation, computation, figuring, reckoning

   problem solving that involves numbers or quantities
5. noun

   (music) melodic subject of a musical composition
   “the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it”

   synonyms: melodic theme, musical theme, theme

   types:

   motif, motive

   a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music

   statement

   (music) the presentation of a musical theme

   variation

   a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished

   obbligato, obligato

   a persistent but subordinate motif

   inversion

   (counterpoint) a variation of a melody or part in which ascending intervals are replaced by descending intervals and vice versa

   augmentation

   the statement of a theme in notes of greater duration (usually twice the length of the original)

   diminution

   the statement of a theme in notes of lesser duration (usually half the length of the original)

   partita

   one of the variations contained in a partita

   type of:

   air, line, melodic line, melodic phrase, melody, strain, tune

   a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence