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

For now, the study provides proof of concept. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025

Some work continued on the environment after his death—this final release came out in December 2005, nearly 10 months later—but the project was ultimately abandoned, and many planned innovations, such as a ZUI of its own, were never fully developed beyond a separate proof of concept. —Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025

Use it to create proofs of concept and demonstrate the art of the possible. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

The prototypes are being used as final proof of concept and safety and will inform tooling and production requirements at Steyr ahead of series production. —New Atlas, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above