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

With this proof of concept, the team has shown how lessons from the octopus may help shape the future of underwater exploration. —Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2025

Last month, Uncaged signed a proof of concept (POC) with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), further indicating the auto industry’s growing appetite for next-generation materials. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 4 Sep. 2025

Ultimately, Natick served as a proof of concept for hardware resilience in extreme environments rather than a template for next-generation infrastructure. —Nicola Sfondrini, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

In its current state, Krasa thinks, the inner speech neural prosthesis is a proof of concept. —Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 23 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above