# conception

> English word · Noun · IPA /kənˈsɛpʃən/ · frequency rank #10,348

## Definitions
1. The act of conceiving.
2. The state of being conceived; the beginning.
3. The fertilization of an ovum by a sperm to form a zygote.
4. The start of pregnancy.
5. The formation of a conceptus or an implanted embryo.
6. The power or faculty of apprehending of forming an idea in the mind; the power of recalling a past sensation or perception; the ability to form mental abstractions.
7. An image, idea, or notion formed in the mind; a concept, plan or design.

## Etymology
From Middle English concepcioun, borrowed from Old French conception, from Latin conceptiō (“a comprehending, a collection, composition, an expression, also a becoming pregnant”), from concipiō, past participle conceptus (“conceive”); see conceive. Equivalent to conceive + -tion.

## Easily confused with
- **connection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conception-vs-connection)
- **convention** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conception-vs-convention)
- **contention** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conception-vs-contention)
- **congestion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conception-vs-congestion)
- **concession** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conception-vs-concession)
- **convection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conception-vs-convection)
- **concoction** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conception-vs-concoction)

## Common misspellings (16)
`cconception`, `cnoception`, `cocneption`, `concception`, `concepiton`, `concepption`, `concepsion`, `conceptino`, `conceptionn`, `conceptoin`, `concepttion`, `concetpion`, `concpetion`, `conecption`, `connception`, `ocnception`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/conception