Other forms: concluded, concludes, concluding
To conclude is to decide something after weighing up what is in front of you. The doctor looked at the scan twice and concluded that the lump was harmless.
The second meaning is to bring to an end: the concert concluded with an encore, the report concludes on page forty. In business and diplomacy you conclude an agreement, a deal, a treaty — you finish negotiating and sign. The noun is conclusion, and it covers both halves: the conclusion of a story is its ending, the conclusion of an argument is what it decides. Conclusive evidence settles the matter. Watch the grammar — you conclude that something is the case, or conclude from the evidence. The word belongs in writing and formal speech; over dinner you would say you worked it out.
1verbdeduceTo decide something after considering the evidence.
“The inspectors concluded that the fire had started in the kitchen.”
2verbconcludeTo bring something to an end, or to come to an end.
“She concluded her speech with a line from her father.”
3verbsettleTo settle and formally agree a deal or treaty.
“The two governments concluded a trade agreement in March.”
Conclude entered Middle English as concluden, straight from Latin conclūdō, which meant to shut up, to close, to bring to an end. The picture underneath is a box being shut. Both English senses fall out of that one gesture: you close the argument, and what is left inside is your conclusion.
Latin
conclūdō — to shut up, close, end
Middle English
concluden
English, today
conclude
From Middle English concluden, borrowed from Latin conclūdō (“to shut up, close, end”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA