proof of concept

noun

plural proofs of concept

: something that demonstrates the feasibility of a concept (such as a product idea or a business plan)

Even if it succeeds, the $5.9 billion reactor will be just a proof of concept, with commercial fusion power still decades away.

—Corey S. Powell

Malware and virus-writing used to be something hobbyist hackers did for fun, as proofs of concept. Not anymore.

—Mat Honan

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

No invention is worth anything without the proof-of-concept prototype.

—Shintaro Osano

… proof-of-concept experiments funded with public money and years away from any commercial application, were sponsored by university biology departments.

—Andrew Curry

Examples of proof of concept in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This time has already allowed teams to discover significant, new solutions for control of burrowing shrimp in Washington State in less than one year, providing proof of concept that ISC can quickly find a solution to any invasive species. —Pam Marrone, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025

For now, the exoskeleton remains both a comedy bit and a striking proof of concept. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025

Shapiro said the next steps would be to attempt to use the cells to create live rock pigeons birthed by a surrogate chicken, as a proof of concept. —Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025

PETs Crossing The Line From Control To GTM A few years ago, PETs were proofs of concept. —Jagbir Kaur, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above