conception

noun

Saykuhn-SEP-shuhnUK/kənˈsɛpʃən/AUS/kənˈsepʃən/

7 meanings of conception

1
nouncountable
An idea, picture, or plan that you form in your mind.
Like a picture you make in your head before something is real.
His conception of a fun weekend is hiking in the mountains.
She explained her conception of how the new park should look.
Similaridea, notion, concept, vision, image
2
noununcountable
The moment when a pregnancy first begins inside the body.
Like the first day a seed starts to grow into a plant.
Doctors estimate the date of conception to predict the due date.
Good nutrition matters from the time of conception onward.
Similarfertilization, impregnation
3
noununcountable
When a sperm and an egg join together to form a new cell.
Like two puzzle pieces joining to start something brand new.
Conception happens when a sperm fertilizes an egg.
After conception, the new cell begins to divide.
Similarfertilization, impregnation
Note
4
noununcountable
The power of the mind to form ideas and remember past feelings.
Like a tool in your mind that builds ideas out of what you see.
A child's conception grows stronger as they learn new things.
Years of study sharpened her powers of conception.
Similarimagination, understanding, comprehension, apprehension
Note
5
noununcountable
The act of forming an idea or plan in the mind.
Like the moment you first think up a new game to play.
The conception of the project took only a single afternoon.
Her conception of the story began with one simple image.
Similarinception, genesis, creation, formation, origination
Note
6
nouncountable or uncountable
The earliest beginning of something, when it first comes into being.
Like the very first moment a story begins.
The plan was flawed from its conception.
From conception to launch, the project took two years.
Similarinception, beginning, outset, birth, founding
7
noununcountable
The growing of a tiny early embryo after it attaches inside the womb.
Like a seed taking root in soil before it can grow.
Doctors mark conception from the moment the embryo embeds in the womb wall.
Healthy implantation is essential for conception to succeed.
Note

Practice

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Origin

It came through Old French from Latin conceptiō, meaning both 'understanding' and 'becoming pregnant', from concipiō, 'to conceive'.