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

But the biggest is the proof of concept Notre Dame put on the field last season. —Pete Sampson, New York Times, 18 June 2025

Sparky might be the first mainstream proof of concept. —Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

Of course, operating on Earth is vastly different from the lunar surface, but this nonetheless offers a reasonable proof of concept. —Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2025

Hernández had seen the proof of concept too, when Yamamoto blanked the New York Yankees over seven spectacular innings in the Bronx in June. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above