conclude

verb con·clude \ kən-ˈklüd \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 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

The report concluded that Ugenti-Rita did not know about the messages between her fiancé, Brian Townsend, a longtime Capitol insider and lobbyist, and the staff member.

— richard ruelas, azcentral, "Don Shooter subpoenas secret documents in the House sexual harassment investigation," 12 July 2018
That’s getting to be a big enough sample size to conclude the SS Rebuild is finding smooth waters.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Morning Line: Baseball is all about adjusting. So, adjust to the adjustment.," 10 July 2018
Tuesday’s flat leg with its four-kilometer finish — the longest straightaway to conclude a leg on this Tour— was perfect terrain for the budding rivals to break the tie.

— joseph wilson, The Seattle Times, "Gaviria beats Sagan again to claim 2nd Tour win on Stage 4," 10 July 2018
Pompeo’s stop in the capital Kabul, his first since becoming Secretary of State, comes toward the end of a week-long trip that began in North Korea and Vietnam, and is slated to conclude in Brussels with NATO discussions from July 10-12.

— laignee barron, Time, "Mike Pompeo Pushes for Peace Talks With the Taliban During a Surprise Stop in Afghanistan," 10 July 2018
Circuit Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo told the six jurors and two alternate jurors selected late Monday afternoon to expect the trial to conclude on or before Thursday.

— marc freeman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Trial to open for deputy accused of sexual battery attempt," 10 July 2018
Helmi and her team used this data to conclude that the Milky Way’s inner region contains hints of debris from an ancient galactic impact.

— ramin skibba, WIRED, "This Galactic Collision Shaped the History of the Milky Way," 8 July 2018
The Senate report diverges from an earlier one released in March by House Intelligence Committee Republicans, who said officials were mistaken to conclude that Moscow wanted Trump to win.

— chris megerian, Anchorage Daily News, "Senate panel backs up intelligence agencies, says Russia aimed to help Trump in election," 4 July 2018
The rain stopped in time for Friends of North Richmond’s Mission Week to conclude June 21 with the city of Richmond’s partnership hosting a community Bingo Game Night for Richmond residents.

— staff report, Houston Chronicle, "Richmond Game Night called a success," 3 July 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.