IDEA

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does idea mean? 

• IDEA (noun)
  The noun IDEA has 5 senses:

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

2. your intention; what you intend to do

3. a personal view

4. an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth

5. (music) melodic subject of a musical composition

  Familiarity information: IDEA used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IDEA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

idea; thought

Context example:

the thought never entered my mind

Hypernyms ("idea" is a kind of...):

cognitive content; content; mental object (the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "idea"):

belief; feeling; impression; notion; opinion (a vague idea in which some confidence is placed)

kink (an eccentric idea)

keynote (a fundamental or central idea)

idealisation; idealization (something that exists only as an idea)

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

motif; theme (a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work)

burden (the central idea that is expanded in a document or discourse)

meaning; substance (the idea that is intended)

notion; whim; whimsey; whimsy (an odd or fanciful or capricious idea)

theorem (an idea accepted as a demonstrable truth)

reaction (an idea evoked by some experience)

suggestion (an idea that is suggested)

generalisation; generality; generalization (an idea or conclusion having general application)

figment (a contrived or fantastic idea)

plan; program; programme (a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished)

misconception (an incorrect conception)

preoccupation (an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention)

concept; conception; construct (an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances)

cogitation (a carefully considered thought about something)

inspiration (arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity)

Derivation:

ideal (constituting or existing only in the form of an idea or mental image or conception)

ideate (form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Your intention; what you intend to do

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

idea; mind

Context example:

the idea of the game is to capture all the pieces

Hypernyms ("idea" is a kind of...):

aim; design; intent; intention; purpose (an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A personal view

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

he has an idea that we don't like him

Hypernyms ("idea" is a kind of...):

opinion; persuasion; sentiment; thought; view (a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "idea"):

body image (an individual's idea as assessment of his or her own body)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

approximation; estimate; estimation; idea

Context example:

a rough idea how long it would take

Hypernyms ("idea" is a kind of...):

calculation; computation; figuring; reckoning (problem solving that involves numbers or quantities)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "idea"):

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)

scalage (estimation of the amount of lumber in a log)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(music) melodic subject of a musical composition

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

idea; melodic theme; musical theme; theme

Context example:

the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it

Hypernyms ("idea" is a kind of...):

air; line; melodic line; melodic phrase; melody; strain; tune (a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence)

Domain category:

music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "idea"):

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)

 Context examples 

This gave me an idea, or the rudiment of one. I must watch how he gets rid of his spiders.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Finally an idea came to him.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The contemplation of me seemed to inspire him with a sudden idea, and he added, briskly, “I should wash him!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“While Mary is adjusting her ideas,” he continued, “let us return to Mr. Bingley.”

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“Why,” said my wife, pulling up her veil, “it is Kate Whitney. How you startled me, Kate! I had not an idea who you were when you came in.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He sprang to his feet with a whine, and then, struck by a new idea, turned his attention to Madge.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The sailor Johnson was swayed by idea, by principle, and truth, and sincerity.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He had no abstract ideas about justice and fair play.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Well, my idea was that you and I could rush him.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I did not like this iteration of one idea—this strange recurrence of one image, and I grew nervous as bedtime approached and the hour of the vision drew near.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)