The correct term of an idea that hasn't been tested yet is a hypothesis. A `theory' is a full featured explanation. Generally, one requires a theory to be 'accepted as true' by the majority of the scientific community.
The nomenclature here really sucks, because colloquially theory and hypothesis are essentially synonyms. However, it makes no sense to talk about the hypothesis of gravity. This discussion comes up most often around claims like "The theory of evolution is just a theory".
The nomenclature here really sucks, because colloquially theory and hypothesis are essentially synonyms. However, it makes no sense to talk about the hypothesis of gravity. This discussion comes up most often around claims like "The theory of evolution is just a theory".