conclude

verb con·clude \ kən-ˈklüd \

Updated on: 21 Apr 2018

Definition of conclude

concluded; concluding

transitive verb

1 obsolete : to shut up : enclose

2 : to bring to an end especially in a particular way or with a particular action

conclude a meeting

3 a : to reach as a logically necessary end by reasoning : infer on the basis of evidence

concluded that her argument was sound

b : to make a decision about : decide

concluded he would wait a little longer

c : to come to an agreement on : effect

conclude a sale

concluded a peace treaty

4 : to bring about as a result : complete

intransitive verb

1 : end

The festivities concluded at midnight.

2 a : to form a final judgment

b : to reach a decision or agreement

—

concluder

noun

See conclude defined for English-language learners

See conclude defined for kids

Examples of conclude in a Sentence

The investigation has not yet concluded.
The meeting concluded at noon.
The chairman concluded by wishing us all a happy holiday.
We concluded the meeting on a happy note.
The chairman concluded his speech by wishing us all a happy holiday.
We conclude from our review of the evidence that they are right.
Many studies have concluded that smoking is dangerous.
The speech, many historians concluded, was the most important of his career.
Their effort to conclude an agreement was a success.

Recent Examples of conclude from the Web

The draft concludes on Saturday, with coverage beginning at noon.

— wells dusenbury, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Stoneman Douglas football team, Aaron Feis' family to announce Dolphins' NFL draft picks," 18 Apr. 2018
Many of the talks concluded with a host asking follow-up questions about the dangers of the technology demonstrated.

— erin griffith, WIRED, "I Feel Everything: Soul-Searching at TED's Inspiration Assembly Line," 18 Apr. 2018
Marin is the nephew of Luciano Marin, better known as alias Ivan Marquez, who with Santrich’s help led the FARC in peace talks that concluded in 2016 with an agreement to end a half century of fighting.

— Washington Post, "US gains key witness in drug case against Colombian rebel," 17 Apr. 2018
The event, which also features the traditional pageantry of an Opening Ceremony and concludes with a Closing Ceremony celebration, is projected to generate $256 million in economic impact on the city of Birmingham over the course of 11 days.

— erin edgemon, AL.com, "30 sports competing at World Games 2021 Birmingham," 16 Apr. 2018
Zusi attempted to corral a long pass and instead took a heavy touch, leading to a Seattle break that Cristian Roldan concluded with a go-ahead goal in the 73rd minute.

— sam mcdowell, kansascity, "Graham Zusi scores late, helps Sporting KC salvage home draw with Seattle | The Kansas City Star," 15 Apr. 2018
WrestleMania week in New Orleans concluded Tuesday night (April 10) with Smackdown at the Smoothie King Center, and World Wrestling Entertainment rolled out of town Wednesday.

— gene guillot, NOLA.com, "The best 34 parts of an awesome WrestleMania week," 12 Apr. 2018
The hearings are expected to conclude in June, with a ruling to follow.

— ryan sabalow and dale kasler, sacbee, "Massive Delta tunnels project took a giant step forward – here’s what you need to know | The Sacramento Bee," 11 Apr. 2018
After being closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the festival concludes with daily operation from Dec. 26 through Dec. 31.

— dan moran, Lake County News-Sun, "Moran: Great America takes a smart gamble on launching 'Holiday in the Park'," 11 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conclude.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of conclude

Middle English, from Latin concludere to shut up, end, infer, from com- + claudere to shut — more at close

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

conclude Synonyms

Phrases

bite the dust;

Synonym Discussion of conclude

close, end, conclude, finish, complete, terminate mean to bring or come to a stopping point or limit. close usually implies that something has been in some way open as well as unfinished.

- close a debate

end conveys a strong sense of finality.

- ended his life

conclude may imply a formal closing (as of a meeting).

- the service concluded with a blessing

finish may stress completion of a final step in a process.

- after it is painted, the house will be finished

complete implies the removal of all deficiencies or a successful finishing of what has been undertaken.

- the resolving of this last issue completes the agreement

terminate implies the setting of a limit in time or space.

- your employment terminates after three months

infer, deduce, conclude, judge, gather mean to arrive at a mental conclusion. infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise.

- from that remark, I inferred that they knew each other

deduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization.

- denied we could deduce anything important from human mortality

conclude implies arriving at a necessary inference at the end of a chain of reasoning.

- concluded that only the accused could be guilty

judge stresses a weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based.

- judge people by their actions

gather suggests an intuitive forming of a conclusion from implications.

- gathered their desire to be alone without a word

CONCLUDE Defined for English Language Learners

conclude

verb

Definition of conclude for English Language Learners

: to stop or finish : to come to an end : to end in a particular way or with a particular action
: to cause (something) to stop or finish : to end (something) in a particular way or with a particular action
: to form or state (an opinion) : to decide (something) after a period of thought or research

CONCLUDE Defined for Kids

conclude

verb con·clude \ kən-ˈklüd \

Definition of conclude for Students

concluded; concluding

1 : to bring or come to an end : finish

conclude a speech

2 : to decide after a period of thought or research

I conclude that I was wrong.

3 : to bring about as a result

They would like to conclude an agreement on working together.

Word Root of conclude

The Latin word claudere, meaning “to close” or “to shut,” gives us the root clud. To exclude is to shut another out of a group. To include is to shut someone into a group. To conclude, or bring something, such as a speech, to an end, is to close it.