Definition of "conception"

conception

/kənˈsɛpʃən/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural conceptions
1. The act of conceiving.
2. The state of being conceived; the beginning.
3. The fertilization of an ovum by a sperm to form a zygote.
  Quotations
  Some powers diuine, or els infernall, mixtTheir angry ſeedes at his conception:For he was neuer ſprong of humaine race,Since with the ſpirit of his fearefull pride,He dares so doubtleſly reſolue of rule.
  c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, Act II, scene vi
4. The start of pregnancy.
5. The formation of a conceptus or an implanted embryo.
6. The power or faculty of apprehending of forming an idea in the mind; the power of recalling a past sensation or perception; the ability to form mental abstractions.
7. An image, idea, or notion formed in the mind; a concept, plan or design.
  Quotations
  Elegant brick and stone buildings, with iron and glass canopies and decorative wooden scalloping and fencing—all evidencing care on the part of the architect to produce a pleasing, well-planned building—were submerged beneath a profusion of ill-conceived additions and camouflaged by vulgar paint schemes; and the original conception was lost.
  1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, pages 250–251