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

The proof of concept for Atlanta’s change was the Hawks’ 50-point fourth-quarter eruption Dec. 26 against the Chicago Bulls, the first time in three decades a team dropped 50 in the fourth. —John Hollinger, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025

The money is meant to help researchers who might have proof of concept begin the expensive work of scaling the research into commercial uses in North Carolina. —Zachery Eanes, Axios, 19 Nov. 2024

In their study, the researchers designed and tested several low-cost, light-weight proof of concept transmit arrays to refocus the beam, finding the tactic could transfer nearly 2.5 times as much power as a system that would beam power straight to Earth. —IEEE Spectrum, 7 Nov. 2024

Having used a $2.9 million grant from ARPA-E to demonstrate proof of concept, Limelight is now planning a pilot-scale plant in 2025 capable of producing 100 tons annually. —Andrew Rosenblum, Popular Science, 26 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above