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

With a validated proof of concept, Brown Foods is now refining its production process. —Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025

Who knows where this will go for Michigan State, but Friday was proof of concept for a program that still willfully does things its own way. —Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 22 Feb. 2025

Silicon Valley is not proof of concept for monarchy. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025

By 2019, the startup had a proof of concept design, which was shortlisted for a Eurobike Innovation Award (though didn't take home the gong). —Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 18 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above