idea

i·de·a / īˈdēə/ • n. 1. a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action: they don't think it's a very good idea. ∎  a concept or mental impression: our menu list will give you some idea of how interesting a low-fat diet can be. ∎  an opinion or belief: nineteenth-century ideas about drinking. ∎  a feeling that something is probable or possible: he had an idea that she must feel the same. 2. (the idea) the aim or purpose: I took a job with the idea of getting some money together. 3. Philos. (in Platonic thought) an eternally existing pattern of which individual things in any class are imperfect copies. ∎  (in Kantian thought) a concept of pure reason, not empirically based in experience. PHRASES: get (or give someone) ideas inf. become (or make someone) ambitious, bigheaded, or tempted to do something against someone else's will, esp. make a sexual advance: Mac began to get ideas about turning pro. have (got) no idea inf. not know at all: she had no idea where she was going. not someone's idea of inf. not what someone regards as: it's not my idea of a happy ending. put ideas into someone's head suggest ambitions or thoughts that a person would not otherwise have had. that's an idea inf. that suggestion or proposal is worth considering. that's the idea inf. used to confirm to someone that they have understood something or they are doing something correctly: “A sort of bodyguard?” “That's the idea.” the very idea! inf. an exclamation of disapproval or disagreement.