idea
[noun]
Synonyms:
- thought, concept, impression, perception
- belief, conviction, notion, opinion, teaching, view
- plan, aim, intention, object, objective, purpose

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Related Words: assumption, belief, conclusion, conviction, estimation, feeling, inclination, judgment, opinion, persuasion, presumption, reaction, reflection, sentiment, view, conjecture, guess, hypothesis, speculation, supposition, surmise, suspicion, theory, caprice, fancy, fantasy, vagary, whim, whimsy, brainstorm, inspiration

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English Thesaurus: idea, thought, impression, inspiration, brainwave, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

i‧dea S1 W1 /aɪˈdɪə/ noun
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: Greek, from idein 'to see']

1. PLAN/SUGGESTION [countable] a plan or suggestion for a possible course of action, especially one that you think of suddenly:
You should talk to Ken - he's always full of good ideas.
I knew it was a bad idea to leave him on his own.
It was my wife’s idea to move house.
idea for
The idea for the book came from an old war movie.
the idea of doing something
I had the idea of asking Katie for help.
► Do not say ‘the idea to do something’. Say the idea of doing something. However, you can say it is a good idea to do something and it was someone’s idea to do something.

2. KNOWLEDGE [uncountable and countable] a general understanding of something, based on some knowledge about it:
Could you give me an idea of how bad his injuries are?
You must have some idea (=have at least a little knowledge) of what happened to the money.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand it right now – you’ll get the idea (=begin to understand or be able to do something).
have no idea/not have any idea
She doesn’t have any idea where they’ve gone.
a general/rough idea (=a not very exact idea)
Can you give me a rough idea of how much the repairs will cost?
not have the faintest/slightest/foggiest idea spoken:
I don’t have the faintest idea what to get Rachel for her birthday.

3. AIM/INTENTION [uncountable and countable] the aim, intention, or purpose of doing something:
The idea is to teach children to save money.
idea of/behind
The idea behind the outing is to encourage employees to get to know each other.
They wanted Mike to go to law school, but he had other ideas (=had different plans).

4. HOW YOU IMAGINE SOMETHING TO BE [uncountable and countable] an image in your mind of what something is like or should be like
idea of
Chefs differ in their idea of what makes a good dessert.
I only have a vague idea of the kind of work I’ll be doing.
It helps if you have a clear idea of what you want.
not my idea of something
Chocolate milk and a piece of cake is not my idea of dinner.
The very idea of kissing him made her feel physically sick.

5. BELIEF/OPINION [countable usually plural] someone’s opinion or belief about something
idea about
She had some rather unusual ideas about raising children.
where did you get that idea? (=used to say that what someone thinks is completely wrong)
No, I’m not seeing Jane. Where did you get that idea?

6. PRINCIPLE [countable] a principle or belief about how something is or should be
idea of
The whole idea of democracy was something strange and new to most people.
idea that
It’s based on the idea that all people are created equal.

7. have an idea (that) to be fairly sure that something is true, without being completely sure:
I’m not sure where my necklace is, but I have a pretty good idea who took it.

8. get the wrong idea to think that something is true when it is not:
Don’t get the wrong idea about Dan and Helen – they’re just friends.

9. have the right idea to act or think in a way that will probably lead to the correct result:
He still makes a few mistakes but I reckon he’s got the right idea.

10. that’s/there’s an idea spoken used to say that you like what someone has just suggested:
‘Why don’t you invite Paula to come with us?’ ‘There’s an idea.’

11. that’s the idea spoken
a) used to tell someone who is learning to do something that they are doing it the right way, in order to encourage them:
Keep your knees bent and lean forward slightly. That’s the idea!
b) used to emphasize what the main point of something is, or to say that someone understands that point:
‘You’re thinking of getting a new job?’ ‘Yeah, that’s the idea.’

12. bright idea a very clever idea, often used in a joking way to mean a very stupid idea or action:
Whose bright idea was it to leave the back door wide open?

13. give somebody ideas/put ideas into sb’s head to make someone think of doing something that they had not thought of doing before, especially something that they should not do:
Nick tells me he wants a motorbike. Have you been putting ideas into his head?

14. is it sb’s idea of a joke? used when you are surprised and often rather annoyed by what someone has said or done:
‘She wants you to do it by tomorrow.’ ‘Is that your idea of a joke?’

15. what’s the big idea? spoken used when you cannot understand why someone has done something

16. you have no idea (how/what etc) spoken used when you are telling someone that something is extremely good, bad etc:
You have no idea how worried I was.

17. the idea! old-fashioned spoken used to express surprise or disapproval when someone has said something stupid
⇒ buck your ideas up at buck up(4)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

idea
noun
I. plan/suggestion
ADJ. bright, brilliant, clever, excellent, good, great, marvellous | valuable, worthwhile | exciting, inspirational, interesting, stimulating | constructive, positive | creative, imaginative, innovative, original | wacky | big The latest big idea is to make women more interested in sport.
alternative Group counselling is used as an alternative idea to punishment.
fresh, new | absurd, bad, mistaken, ridiculous | crackpot, crazy, mad, outlandish, wild | half-baked | ambitious, big, grand He joined the company as an office assistant with big ideas.
grandiose | basic The basic idea is that we all meet up in London.
VERB + IDEA have Do you have any ideas for a present for Lara?
come up with, dream up, hit on/upon, produce, think up | draw, get Her ideas are drawn mainly from Chinese art.
contribute, input | moot, put forward | promote, push (forward), sell They managed to push the idea of moving office through the committee.
welcome Most employees welcome the idea of a ban on smoking.
consider, entertain, flirt with, toy with I'm toying with the idea of packing in my job.
mull over, turn over He kept turning the idea of resigning over in his mind.
encourage, generate Brainstorming is a good way of generating ideas.
stifle a system of decision-making that stifles original ideas
reject, scoff at, veto | test, try out | bounce around, bounce off sb, brainstorm, discuss, explore, talk about I met up with a designer to bounce a few ideas around. It's useful to have someone to bounce ideas off.
exchange, pool, share | give sb What gave you the idea to go freelance?
apply, implement, put into action/effect/practice The idea had long been mooted but nothing had been done to put it into practice.
transform, translate How could we translate the idea into business reality?
steal She accused the company of stealing her idea.
impose She always tries to impose her own ideas on the rest of the team.
IDEA + VERB come into sb's head/mind, come to sb, flash across/into sb's mind/brain, hit sb, occur to sb, pop into sb's head, strike sb The idea for the invention came to him in the bath. | emerge, evolve, form, grow An idea began to form in his mind.
flow His ideas flowed faster than he could express them.
come from sb/sth, date back from/to sth, originate, start, stem from sth The idea for the Olympics originated with Pierre de Coubertin.
blossom, work (out) The idea has now blossomed into a successful mail-order business.
lead The idea eventually led to the invention of the telephone.
come to nothing
PREP. ~ about I have an idea about how to tackle the problem.
~ for We were asked to suggest ideas for improving efficiency.
~ of She had the idea of advertising on the Internet.
PHRASES be open to ideas I don't know what to do, but I'm open to ideas.
the germ/glimmering of an idea The germ of his idea came from watching a bird make a nest.
have other ideas I wanted to take the week off, but my boss had other ideas.
it might be an idea It might be an idea to leave a note on the door for Mark.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

idea
II. thought/impression
ADJ. clear, concrete, precise | abstract | theoretical | basic, rough, vague He gave me a rough idea of what was wanted.
key, main The book introduces the key ideas of sociology.
dominant | fixed, inflexible | preconceived | definite, firm, strong She has very definite ideas about what kind of a job she wants.
complex, difficult | simplistic | conventional | traditional | radical, revolutionary | contradictory | erroneous, false, wrong I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about me.
funny, strange | utopian | romantic People have a romantic idea of the police force.
new-fangled | outdated | not the faintest/foggiest/remotest/slightest (informal) I haven't got the faintest idea what she meant. | artistic, economic, intellectual, moral, musical, philosophical, political, scientific | fascist, feminist, nationalist, socialist
VERB + IDEA get They seem to have got the idea that we will be giving them a lift. You'll soon get the idea (= understand).
espouse, have, hold He holds very different ideas to mine about discipline.
develop, form, shape the experiences that shaped her ideas
express | communicate, convey, get across, get over, present, put across The book puts across complex ideas in a way anyone can understand.
demonstrate, explain, expound, illustrate | clarify, formalize, formulate, organize, structure Give careful thought to how to structure your ideas in the essay.
change, reconsider, reshape, revise They had to reconsider their ideas in the light of new evidence.
accept | dismiss, reject | harbour I hope he's not still harbouring ideas about asking me out.
be obsessed with He's obsessed with the idea of getting a motorbike.
relish I don't relish the idea of sharing an office with Tony.
IDEA + VERB amuse sb, appeal to sb, please sb The idea of going to his rescue amused her.
catch on, take hold Some students started wearing denim, and the idea caught on.
PREP. ~ about She's got some funny ideas about how to motivate staff.
~ behind The idea behind the ceremony is to keep the gods happy to ensure a good crop.
~ of Swimming in an icy river is not my idea of fun.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

idea

have an idea
I’ve had an idea. Why don’t we walk into town?
get an idea
She got the idea from an article in a magazine.
give somebody an idea
What gave you the idea for the book?
come up with an idea (=think of an idea)
He’s always coming up with interesting ideas.
hit on an idea informal (=suddenly think of an idea)
Then we hit on the idea of renting a cottage.
toy with an idea informal (=think about using an idea, but not very seriously)
I’m toying with the idea of going back to college.
brainstorm ideas (=get a group of people to all try and think of ideas)
We had a meeting to brainstorm ideas for the new advertising campaign.
share/exchange ideas (=tell someone else your ideas, and learn their ideas)
an opportunity for local business people to share ideas
an idea comes to somebody (=someone suddenly thinks of an idea)
The idea came to me while I was having a bath.
a good/bad idea
Keeping the drinks cold in the bath was a good idea.
Knocking down this wall was a really bad idea.
a great/brilliant/excellent idea
What a great idea!
a bright idea (=a very good idea - often used ironically)
Whose bright idea was it to leave the washing out in the rain?
a clever idea
It seemed like a clever idea at the time.
interesting
The idea sounded interesting , but I didn’t think it would work.
stupid/ridiculous/crazy
The idea sounded crazy to me.
Camping in the middle of winter was a ridiculous idea!
He had the crazy idea of hitchhiking around South America.
original/innovative (=no one has thought of it before)
The company is looking for people who can come up with original ideas.
a half-baked idea (=an idea that has not been carefully thought out)
It’s yet another of the government’s half-baked ideas.
be full of ideas (also be bursting with ideas) (=have a lot of ideas)
The children were enthusiastic and full of ideas.
fire/bounce ideas off one another (=discuss each other’s ideas and think of good new ones)
Our regular meetings are opportunities to fire ideas off each other.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

idea
noun
BAD: I had the brilliant idea to invite Sonia to my party.
GOOD: I had the brilliant idea of inviting Sonia to my party.

Usage Note:
the idea of doing sth: 'She doesn't like the idea of staying in the house on her own.'
Compare: 'It was a good idea to invite Sonia to your party.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

idea something that you think of, especially something that you could do or suggest:
I think that’s an excellent idea.
Let me know if you have any good ideas.
thought something that comes into your mind:
The thought had entered my mind that he might be lying.
It was a worrying thought.
She was lost in her thoughts.
impression the idea that you have in your mind about what someone or something is like:
What was your impression of him?
inspiration a good and original idea, which makes you think of doing or creating something:
Where did you get your inspiration from for the book?
He suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
The design for the house was entirely the inspiration of the architect.
brainwave British English, brainstorm American English a sudden new and clever idea, especially one that solves a problem:
I thought I’d have to sell the house, but then I had a brainwave.
concept an idea of how something is, or how something should be done:
Concepts of beauty are different in different cultures.
the traditional concept of marriage
notion an idea about life or society, especially one that is a little silly or old-fashioned:
There is no evidence to support the notion that poverty is caused by laziness.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

idea
aɪˈdɪə
See: the idea , what's the big idea or what's the idea

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲