/aɪ'dɪə; aɪ`dɪə/
n
1 [C] plan, etc formed by thinking; thought 构想; 思想; 主意
*He's full of good ideas. 他足智多谋.
* That's an (ie a good) idea. 那是个（好）主意.
2 [U, sing] mental impression 印象; 感想
*This book gives you some idea/a good idea of life in ancient Greece. 这本书可以使你对古希腊人的生活有一些认识[有深入的了解].
3 [C] opinion; belief 意见; 信念
*He has some very strange ideas. 他有一些奇怪的想法.
4 [U, sing] vague notion or fancy; feeling that sth is likely 模糊的想法; 想像; 认为某事很有可能发生的感觉
*He had no idea she was like that. 他万万没想到她是那样的.
* Have you any idea what time it is? 你知道现在几点钟了吗?
* I have an idea it's going to rain. 我看要下雨了.
5 the idea [sing] the aim or purpose 目的; 目标
*The idea of the game is to get all your pieces to the other side of the board. 这个游戏的目标是要把所有的棋子全走到棋盘的另一边.
6 (used in exclamations to indicate that what has been suggested is stupid, shocking, etc 认为提出的事情愚蠢、耸人听闻等而表示惊叹时用)
*The idea of it! 真糊涂!
* What an idea! 这叫什么主意呀!
7 (idm 习语) buck one's ideas up => buck2. get the i`dea understand 理解
*Do you get the idea? 你明白了吗? get the idea that... form the impression that... 形成...的印象
*Where did you get the idea that she doesn't like you? 你是从哪儿得来的这个印象, 说她不喜欢你呢? give sb ideas give sb expectations or hopes which may not be realized 使某人抱不切实际的希望
*Don't give her ideas you know how difficult it is to get into films. 别让她空抱希望吧--你知道跻身影界有多难哪. have no i`dea not know; be incompetent 不知道; 无能力
*He has no idea how to manage people. 他根本不知道如何做人事工作. not have the first idea about sth know nothing at all about sth 对某事一无所知. one's idea of sth what one thinks of as representing sth 对某事物的看法. run away with the idea that... (infml 口) (often used in the negative imperative 常用于否定的祈使句中) be misled by or accept a false idea 误以为; 接受某错误的想法
*Don't run away with the idea that this job is going to be easy. 别以为这工作是轻而易举的. the young idea => young.

n

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1【plan/suggestion】
2【knowledge】
3【aim/intention】
4【how you imagine something to be】
5【belief/opinion】
6【principle】
7 have an idea (that)
8 get the wrong idea
9 have the right idea
10 that's/there's an idea
11 that's the idea
12 bright idea
13 give somebody ideas/put ideas into somebody's head
14 is it somebody's idea of a joke?
15 what's the big idea?
16 you have no idea (how/what etc)
17 the idea!

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[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin;Origin:Greek, from idein 'to see']
【PLAN/SUGGESTION】[C]
a plan or suggestion for a possible course of action, especially one that you think of suddenly
　I've had an idea . Why don't we walk into town?
　She got the idea from an article in a fashion magazine.
What gave you the idea of using a male actor for the part?
　Mike's always good at coming up with new ideas .
　It was my wife's idea to move house.
idea for
The idea for the book came from an old war movie.
What a great idea !
I knew it was a bad idea to leave him on his own.
　She was always very enthusiastic and bursting with ideas .
　an exchange of ideas between academic and business communities
　Lately I've been toying with the idea of going back to school.
【KNOWLEDGE】 [U and C]
a general understanding of something, based on some knowledge about it
　Could you give me an idea of how bad his injuries are?
　You must have some idea (=have at least a little knowledge) of what happened to the money.
　Don't worry if you don't understand it right now - you'll get the idea (=begin to understand or be able to do something) .
have no idea/not have any idea
　She doesn't have any idea where they've gone.
a general/rough idea
(=a not very exact idea)
　Can you give me a rough idea of how much the repairs will cost?
not have the faintest/slightest/foggiest idea
spoken
　I don't have the faintest idea what to get Rachel for her birthday.
【AIM/INTENTION】 [U and C]
the aim, intention, or purpose of doing something
　The idea is to teach children to save money.
idea of/behind
　The idea behind the outing is to encourage employees to get to know each other.
　They wanted Mike to go to law school, but he had other ideas (=had different plans) .
【HOW YOU IMAGINE SOMETHING TO BE】 [U and C]
an image in your mind of what something is like or should be like
idea of
　Chefs differ in their idea of what makes a good dessert.
　I only have a vague idea of the kind of work I'll be doing.
　It helps if you have a clear idea of what you want.
not my idea of sth
　Chocolate milk and a piece of cake is not my idea of dinner.
　The very idea of kissing him made her feel physically sick.
【BELIEF/OPINION】 [C usually plural]
someone's opinion or belief about something
idea about
　She had some rather unusual ideas about raising children.
where did you get that idea?
(=used to say that what someone thinks is completely wrong)
　No, I'm not seeing Jane. Where did you get that idea?
【PRINCIPLE】[C]
a principle or belief about how something is or should be
idea of
　The whole idea of democracy was something strange and new to most people.
idea that
　It's based on the idea that all people are created equal.
have an idea (that)
to be fairly sure that something is true, without being completely sure
　I'm not sure where my necklace is, but I have a pretty good idea who took it.
get the wrong idea
to think that something is true when it is not
　Don't get the wrong idea about Dan and Helen - they're just friends.
have the right idea
to act or think in a way that will probably lead to the correct result
　He still makes a few mistakes but I reckon he's got the right idea.
that's/there's an idea
spoken used to say that you like what someone has just suggested
　'Why don't you invite Paula to come with us?' 'There's an idea.'
that's the idea
spokena) used to tell someone who is learning to do something that they are doing it the right way, in order to encourage them
　Keep your knees bent and lean forward slightly. That's the idea!
b) used to emphasize what the main point of something is, or to say that someone understands that point
　'You're thinking of getting a new job?' 'Yeah, that's the idea.'
bright idea
a very clever idea, often used in a joking way to mean a very stupid idea or action
　Whose bright idea was it to leave the back door wide open?
give sb ideas/put ideas into sb's head
to make someone think of doing something that they had not thought of doing before, especially something that they should not do
　Nick tells me he wants a motorbike. Have you been putting ideas into his head?
is it sb's idea of a joke?
used when you are surprised and often rather annoyed by what someone has said or done
　'She wants you to do it by tomorrow.' 'Is that your idea of a joke?'
what's the big idea?
spoken used when you cannot understand why someone has done something
you have no idea (how/what etc)
spoken used when you are telling someone that something is extremely good, bad etc
　You have no idea how worried I was.
the idea!
old-fashioned spoken used to express surprise or disapproval when someone has said something stupid or strange
→buck your ideas upatbuck up(4)

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COLLOCATES for sense 1
have an idea
get an idea
give somebody an idea
come up with/hit on an idea (=think of a new idea)
the idea of (doing) something
good/great/brilliant idea
bad/stupid/crazy idea
it is a good/bad idea to do something
be full of ideasalso be bursting with ideas (=have a lot of ideas)
toy with an idea (=think about a plan, but not very seriously)
exchange/share ideasalsoan exchange of ideas
fire ideas off each other (=discuss each other's ideas and think of good new ones)
HINT sense 1
Do not say 'the idea to do something'. Say the idea of doing something. However, you can say it is a good idea to do something and it was your idea to do something.

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