i‧dea S1 W1 / aɪdɪə / 名词
1 plan/suggestion [可数名词] a plan or suggestion for a possible course of action, especially one that you think of suddenly :
You should talk to Ken - he’s always full of good ideas.
I knew it was a bad idea to leave him on his own.
It was my wife’s idea to move house.
idea for
The idea for the book came from an old war movie.
the idea of doing something
I had the idea of asking Katie for help. ► Do not say ‘the idea to do something’. Say the idea of doing something. However, you can say it is a good idea to do something and it was someone’s idea to do something.
2 knowledge [可数和不可数名词] a general understanding of something, based on some knowledge about it :
Could you give me an idea of how bad his injuries are?
You must have some idea (= have at least a little knowledge ) of what happened to the money.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand it right now – you’ll get the idea (= begin to understand or be able to do something ) .
have no idea/not have any idea
She doesn’t have any idea where they’ve gone.
a general/rough idea (= a not very exact idea )
Can you give me a rough idea of how much the repairs will cost?
not have the faintest/slightest/foggiest idea spoken :
I don’t have the faintest idea what to get Rachel for her birthday.
3 aim/intention [可数和不可数名词] the aim, intention, or purpose of doing something :
The idea is to teach children to save money.
idea of/behind
The idea behind the outing is to encourage employees to get to know each other.
They wanted Mike to go to law school, but he had other ideas (= had different plans ) .
4 how you imagine something to be [可数和不可数名词] an image in your mind of what something is like or should be like
idea of
Chefs differ in their idea of what makes a good dessert.
I only have a vague idea of the kind of work I’ll be doing.
It helps if you have a clear idea of what you want.
not my idea of something
Chocolate milk and a piece of cake is not my idea of dinner.
The very idea of kissing him made her feel physically sick.
5 belief/opinion [可数名词，通常复数] someone’s opinion or belief about something
idea about
She had some rather unusual ideas about raising children.
where did you get that idea? (= used to say that what someone thinks is completely wrong )
No, I’m not seeing Jane. Where did you get that idea?
6 principle [可数名词] a principle or belief about how something is or should be
idea of
The whole idea of democracy was something strange and new to most people.
idea that
It’s based on the idea that all people are created equal.
7 have an idea (that) to be fairly sure that something is true, without being completely sure :
I’m not sure where my necklace is, but I have a pretty good idea who took it.
8 get the wrong idea to think that something is true when it is not :
Don’t get the wrong idea about Dan and Helen – they’re just friends.
9 have the right idea to act or think in a way that will probably lead to the correct result :
He still makes a few mistakes but I reckon he’s got the right idea.
10 that’s/there’s an idea spoken used to say that you like what someone has just suggested :
‘Why don’t you invite Paula to come with us?’ ‘There’s an idea.’
11 that’s the idea spoken
a) used to tell someone who is learning to do something that they are doing it the right way, in order to encourage them :
Keep your knees bent and lean forward slightly. That’s the idea!
b) used to emphasize what the main point of something is, or to say that someone understands that point :
‘You’re thinking of getting a new job?’ ‘Yeah, that’s the idea.’
12 bright idea a very clever idea, often used in a joking way to mean a very stupid idea or action :
Whose bright idea was it to leave the back door wide open?
13 give somebody ideas/put ideas into sb’s head to make someone think of doing something that they had not thought of doing before, especially something that they should not do :
Nick tells me he wants a motorbike. Have you been putting ideas into his head?
14 is it sb’s idea of a joke? used when you are surprised and often rather annoyed by what someone has said or done :
‘She wants you to do it by tomorrow.’ ‘Is that your idea of a joke?’
15 what’s the big idea? spoken used when you cannot understand why someone has done something
16 you have no idea (how/what etc) spoken used when you are telling someone that something is extremely good, bad etc :
You have no idea how worried I was.
17 the idea! old-fashioned spoken used to express surprise or disapproval when someone has said something stupid
→ buck your ideas up at buck up ( 4 )
COLLOCATIONS
动词
have an idea I’ve had an idea. Why don’t we walk into town?
get an idea She got the idea from an article in a magazine.
give somebody an idea What gave you the idea for the book?
come up with an idea (= think of an idea ) He’s always coming up with interesting ideas.
hit on an idea informal (= suddenly think of an idea ) Then we hit on the idea of renting a cottage.
toy with an idea informal (= think about using an idea, but not very seriously ) I’m toying with the idea of going back to college.
brainstorm ideas (= get a group of people to all try and think of ideas ) We had a meeting to brainstorm ideas for the new advertising campaign.
share/exchange ideas (= tell someone else your ideas, and learn their ideas ) an opportunity for local business people to share ideas
an idea comes to somebody (= someone suddenly thinks of an idea ) The idea came to me while I was having a bath.
形容词
a good/bad idea Keeping the drinks cold in the bath was a good idea. | Knocking down this wall was a really bad idea.
a great/brilliant/excellent idea What a great idea!
a bright idea (= a very good idea - often used ironically ) Whose bright idea was it to leave the washing out in the rain?
a clever idea It seemed like a clever idea at the time.
interesting The idea sounded interesting , but I didn’t think it would work.
stupid/ridiculous/crazy The idea sounded crazy to me. | Camping in the middle of winter was a ridiculous idea! | He had the crazy idea of hitchhiking around South America.
original/innovative (= no one has thought of it before ) The company is looking for people who can come up with original ideas.
a half-baked idea (= an idea that has not been carefully thought out ) It’s yet another of the government’s half-baked ideas.
短语
be full of ideas ( also be bursting with ideas ) (= have a lot of ideas ) The children were enthusiastic and full of ideas.
fire/bounce ideas off one another (= discuss each other’s ideas and think of good new ones ) Our regular meetings are opportunities to fire ideas off each other.
THESAURUS
idea something that you think of, especially something that you could do or suggest : I think that’s an excellent idea. | Let me know if you have any good ideas.
thought something that comes into your mind : The thought had entered my mind that he might be lying. | It was a worrying thought. | She was lost in her thoughts.
impression the idea that you have in your mind about what someone or something is like : What was your impression of him?
inspiration a good and original idea, which makes you think of doing or creating something : Where did you get your inspiration from for the book? | He suddenly had a flash of inspiration. | The design for the house was entirely the inspiration of the architect.
brainwave British English , brainstorm American English a sudden new and clever idea, especially one that solves a problem : I thought I’d have to sell the house, but then I had a brainwave.
concept an idea of how something is, or how something should be done : Concepts of beauty are different in different cultures. | the traditional concept of marriage
notion an idea about life or society, especially one that is a little silly or old-fashioned : There is no evidence to support the notion that poverty is caused by laziness.