conclude

verb con·clude \ kən-ˈklüd \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: conclude in a Sentence

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

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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

Thirty-two teams from around the world will compete in the month-long tournament that concludes on July 15.

— thom craver, CBS News, "2018 FIFA World Cup: How to watch every team, every game," 12 June 2018
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill noted that Gesicki made a great one-handed catch on a deep ball earlier during this four-week stretch of on-field practices, which conclude on Thursday.

— barry jackson, miamiherald, "Here's the unique approach Dolphins rookie tight ends are taking to get up to speed," 11 June 2018
That brings us to the masterful acrobatics of character and plot seen in season 3, which concluded Sunday.

— refinery29.com, "Who Won This Season Of Billions?," 11 June 2018
In March, the Pew Research Center published a study that concluded that Millennials — the generation born between 1981 and 1996 — are predominantly liberal, Democratic-leaning, and disapproving of President Trump.

— deborah sullivan brennan, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Graduation in an age of innovation — and uncertainty," 10 June 2018
That attack led to a months-long Pentagon investigation which concluded that poor training and insufficient support were contributing factors to the ambush.

— nancy a. youssef, WSJ, "U.S. Special-Operations Member Killed in Somalia," 8 June 2018
Nearly 30 players from the Tarrant County and surrounding areas were selected in the 2018 major league first-year player draft that concluded Wednesday evening.

— stefan stevenson, star-telegram, "Dream come true: All the area players selected in MLB draft," 7 June 2018
Gary Brown and Rick Kline were winners after two rounds of the third annual Charlotte Senior Amateur Championship, which concluded Tuesday at Carmel Country Club.

— charlotteobserver, "Golfers Gary Brown, Rick Kline claim Charlotte Senior Am Championship titles," 7 June 2018
The 40-round draft, which concluded Wednesday evening, finished with 41 players who went to high school in the Houston area being selected.

— matt young, Houston Chronicle, "Where Houston area players went in the MLB Draft," 6 June 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

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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.