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plot

American  

[plot] / plɒt /

noun

• plots
  plural

1. a secret plan or scheme to accomplish some purpose, especially a hostile, unlawful, or evil purpose.

   a plot to overthrow the government.

   Synonyms:

   cabal, intrigue

2. Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.

3. a small piece or area of ground.

   a garden plot;

   burial plot.

4. a measured piece or parcel of land.

   a house on a two-acre plot.

5. a plan, map, diagram, or other graphic representation, as of land, a building, etc.

6. a list, timetable, or scheme dealing with any of the various arrangements for the production of a play, motion picture, etc..

   According to the property plot, there should be a lamp stage left.

7. a chart showing the course of a craft, as a ship or airplane.

8. Artillery. a point or points located on a map or chart.

   target plot.

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verb (used with object)

• plots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plotted,
  past participle,  past
• plotting
  present participle

1. to plan secretly, especially something hostile or evil.

   to plot mutiny.

   Synonyms:

   frame, hatch, brew

2. to mark on a plan, map, or chart, as the course of a ship or aircraft.

3. to draw a plan or map of, as a tract of land or a building.

4. to divide (land) into plots.

5. to determine and mark (points), as on plotting paper, by means of measurements or coordinates.

6. to draw (a curve) by means of points so marked.

7. to represent by means of such a curve.

8. to devise or construct the plot of (a play, novel, etc.).

9. to prepare a list, timetable, or scheme of (production arrangements), as for a play or motion picture.

   The stage manager hadn't plotted the set changes until one day before the dress rehearsal.

10. to make (a calculation) by graph.

verb (used without object)

• plots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plotted,
  past participle,  past
• plotting
  present participle

1. to plan or scheme secretly; form a plot; conspire.

2. to devise or develop a literary or dramatic plot.

3. to be marked or located by means of measurements or coordinates, as on plotting paper.

plot ¹ British  

/ plɒt /

noun

1. a small piece of land

   a vegetable plot

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verb

1. (tr) to arrange or divide (land) into plots

plot ² British  

/ plɒt /

noun

1. a secret plan to achieve some purpose, esp one that is illegal or underhand

   a plot to overthrow the government

2. the story or plan of a play, novel, etc

3. military a graphic representation of an individual or tactical setting that pinpoints an artillery target

4. a diagram or plan, esp a surveyor's map

5. informal to lose one's ability or judgment in a given situation

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verb

1. to plan secretly (something illegal, revolutionary, etc); conspire

2. (tr) to mark (a course, as of a ship or aircraft) on a map

3. (tr) to make a plan or map of

4. 1. to locate and mark (one or more points) on a graph by means of coordinates

   2. to draw (a curve) through these points

5. (tr) to construct the plot of (a literary work)

plot Cultural  

1. The organization of events in a work of fiction.

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Synonym Usage

See conspiracy. Plot, conspire, scheme imply secret, cunning, and often unscrupulous planning to gain one's own ends. To plot is to contrive a secret plan of a selfish and often treasonable kind: to plot against someone's life. To conspire is to unite with others in an illicit or illegal machination: to conspire to seize a government. To scheme is to plan ingeniously, subtly, and often craftily for one's own advantage: to scheme how to gain power.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• plotlessness
  noun
• overplot
  verb
• outplot
  verb (used with object)
• preplot
  verb (used with object)
• replot
  verb (used with object)
• plotful
  adjective
• plotless
  adjective
• unplotted
  adjective
• unplotting
  adjective
• well-plotted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plots
  plural

Participles

• plotting
  present
• plotted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• plot
  simple
• plots
  simple
• have plotted
  perfect
• has plotted
  perfect
• am plotting
  progressive
• are plotting
  progressive
• is plotting
  progressive
• have been plotting
  perfect progressive
• has been plotting
  perfect progressive

Past

• plotted
  simple
• had plotted
  perfect
• was plotting
  progressive
• were plotting
  progressive
• had been plotting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will plot
  simple
• will have plotted
  perfect
• will be plotting
  progressive
• will have been plotting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of plot

First recorded before 1100; the noun has multiple origins: in the sense “piece of ground,” Middle English: “small area, patch, stain, piece of ground,” Old English: “piece of ground” (origin obscure); in the senses “ground plan, outline, map, scheme,” variant (since the 16th century) of plat ¹, itself partly a variant of Middle English, Old English plot; in the sense “secret plan” (from the 16th century), by association with complot; the verb is derivative of the noun

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Explanation

A plot is a scheme, a story, a map charting progress, or a piece of land (as for a garden). To plot is to devise a secret plan, order the events of the story, or track your movement on the map. You could make a whole movie based on the word plot. This could be the plot (story): An evil so-and-so hatches a secret plot (scheme) to follow the explorer to a legendary plot (patch) of land with buried treasure. The explorer plots (draws) the best route to the treasure, but the evil so-and-so steals the plot (map) and gets to the treasure first. What a great story. All that's left is to plot (arrange) the sequence of events for maximum suspense.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plot plots plotted plotting

This month, the U.S. evacuated bomber aircraft from a base in the U.K. because of intelligence about an Iranian plot to attack aircraft and personnel, the Journal has reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Detectives looking into the alleged plot searched homes and electronic devices as part of the investigation, according to the release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Then came another plot twist: Elon Musk revealed that SpaceX and Tesla have formed independent committees to explore a possible merger.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

F1 was so determined for it to become a success that it invested $500m in buying a plot of land on which it constructed a new pit building and paddock.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

“Well, first of all, let me congratulate you all on the superb plot twists! I’ll try to add mine to the mix without getting them hopelessly tangled up.”

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

In the adumbrated cityscapes and sunlit garden plots, he might remix an inherited gesture, shade or style of line with hazy neighborhood memories of Bursch Elementary or Burke Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

The chart plots the countries where their economic forecasts were revised upwards from January with those that were revised downwards.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

But none could match his talent for relentless, aspirational, rags-to-riches plots that, once started, could not be put down.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Past plots have involved hiring young men via encrypted apps with the promise of payment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

We’d talk about the shows we’d watched, rehashing the plots, recalling the dialogue until all our memories were polished smooth and false.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

So the company plotted an ambitious pivot: It would rip up the rulebook and switch to selling fewer cars at a much higher price.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

A color-coded world map in the report plotted out that threat: green for lower-risk countries, where retail consolidation was low, and red for higher risk.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

In 2024, German political figures reacted angrily to a CNN report that Russia had plotted to kill the head of Germany's biggest arms company Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

In one hack that an OpenAI researcher called “a glimpse into the near future,” a team of agents banded together and plotted their attack for weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

To be locked within boundaries plotted by priests and politicians would be the only thing more intolerable.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

I love everything about this movie, from its precision plotting to its autumnal poise—a gentle appreciation for what’s gone, along with acceptance that colder days are coming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Police interrogated him, raided his home and office before accusing him of plotting against the constitutional order.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

“Boys in the alleyway, fondling marbles in their chilblained fingers or plotting Hurley Burley: these would remain foreign to him,” writes Li.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

"I know what I did, I know what we did, and I know how it happened. It didn't feel like we were scheming or plotting."

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

“Mrs. Warne can tell us what the would-be assassins had to say upon discovering that Mr. Lincoln passed safely under their sleeping noses. And we’ll find out if they’re plotting more treachery against him.”

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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