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

Everyone was buzzing about how the place was so phenomenal, but the week before, nobody wanted to go there, so that first night was just such a strong proof of concept. —Katie Bain, Billboard, 25 Mar. 2025

What those programs need is a coach with proof of concept, and in NCAA basketball no one fits that qualification better than McCollum. —Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2025

Some of that redundancy comes from necessary proofs of concept, wherein multiple teams explore similar solutions before consolidation. —Balvinder Singh Banjardar, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025

Lenovo is also toying with that idea through its Solar Power Kit attachment proof of concept. —Ars Technica, 6 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above