When is a noun an idea

Definition and synonyms of idea from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education. This is the British English definition of idea. View American English definition of idea. Change your default dictionary to American English. View the pronunciation for idea. Open Dictionary. Other entries for this word. Word Forms. Collocations and examples. Adjectives frequently used with idea. Synonyms and related words. An abstract noun names something you cannot experience with your senses.

Sometimes abstract nouns are called "idea nouns. History Government U. Cities U. Updated February 21, Factmonster Staff. A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. Make your writing shine Grammarly can help you write your best Write with Grammarly. Nouns form a large proportion of English vocabulary and they come in a wide variety of types. Nouns can name a person: Albert Einstein the president my mother a girl.

Nouns can also name a place: Mount Vesuvius Disneyland my bedroom. Nouns can also name things, although sometimes they might be intangible things, such as concepts, activities, or processes. Some might even be hypothetical or imaginary things. One important distinction to be made is whether a noun is a proper noun or a common noun. A proper noun is a specific name of a person, place, or thing, and is always capitalized. Does Tina have much homework to do this evening?

I would like to visit Old Faithful. The opposite of a proper noun is a common noun, sometimes known as a generic noun.

A common noun is the generic name of an item in a class or group and is not capitalized unless appearing at the beginning of a sentence or in a title. The girl crossed the river. Girl is a common noun; we do not learn the identity of the girl by reading this sentence, though we know the action she takes. River is also a common noun in this sentence. Common or generic nouns can be broken down into three subtypes: concrete nouns, abstract nouns, and collective nouns.

A concrete noun is something that is perceived by the senses; something that is physical or real. Most employees welcome the idea of a ban on smoking. She accused the company of stealing her idea.

She had the idea of advertising on the internet. Some people started recycling, and the idea caught on. Some students started wearing denim, and the idea caught on. That idea didn't work out so well. The book introduces the key ideas of sociology. The book puts across complex ideas in a way anyone can understand.

The germ of his idea came from watching a bird make a nest. The idea behind the ceremony is to keep the gods happy to ensure a good crop. The idea eventually led to the invention of the telephone. The idea for the Olympics originated with Pierre de Coubertin. The idea for the invention came to him in the bath. The idea had long been mooted but nothing had been done to put it into practice.

The idea has now blossomed into a successful mail-order business. The movie is based on a simple idea, but a powerful one. They managed to push the idea of expanding through the committee.

We were asked to suggest ideas for improving efficiency. What gave you the idea to go freelance? I'd like to explore this idea in a bit more detail. I've got a good idea. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

My original idea was to use amateur actors.