To draw an analogy to programming, concepts are rich data structures, and words are pointers to those structures. For example, we all know what the concept of love is. But the word "love" is just a label for the multitude of feelings that we associate with the concept. The question "what is love?" is a dereferencing; you are trying to get to the meaning behind the word.
To answer a question you didn't ask, then, yes, it is possible to have concepts without words to describe them. For example, I knew that some people can find perverse joy in other people's misfortunes, but not until recently did I learn the word "schadenfreude".
An example of non-verbal thought:
Let's say you see you pretty girl (or guy) at the local coffee shop. You're looking at her and imagining all the fun things you can do with her. You're definitely having thoughts, but almost none of it is in words.
Now imagine me sitting here trying to answer your question. Most of my thoughts are in the form of language, because it gives me the power to label these abstract concepts and make them manageable. Philosophy isn't like boobs; you can't put your finger on it without using words.
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