plan

[ plan ]
See synonyms for: planplannedplanningplans on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance: battle plans.

  2. a design or scheme of arrangement: an elaborate plan for seating guests.

  1. a specific project or definite purpose: plans for the future.

  2. Also called plan view . a drawing made to scale to represent the top view or a horizontal section of a structure or a machine, as a floor layout of a building.

  3. a representation of a thing drawn on a plane, as a map or diagram: a plan of the dock area.

  4. (in perspective drawing) one of several planes in front of a represented object, and perpendicular to the line between the object and the eye.

  5. a formal program for specified benefits, needs, etc.: a pension plan.

verb (used with object),planned, plan·ning.
  1. to arrange a method or scheme beforehand for (any work, enterprise, or proceeding): to plan a new recreation center.

  2. to make plans for: to plan one's vacation.

  1. to draw or make a diagram or layout of, as a building.

verb (used without object),planned, plan·ning.
  1. to make plans: to plan ahead; to plan for one's retirement.

Origin of plan

1
First recorded in 1670–80; from French: “ground, plan, groundwork, scheme,” noun use of the adjective: “flat” (see plane1), a learned borrowing of Latin plānus “level” (cf. plain1)

synonym study For plan

1. Plan, project, design, scheme imply a formulated method of doing something. Plan refers to any method of thinking out acts and purposes beforehand: What are your plans for today? A project is a proposed or tentative plan, often elaborate or extensive: an irrigation project. Design suggests art, dexterity, or craft (sometimes evil and selfish) in the elaboration or execution of a plan, and often tends to emphasize the purpose in view: a misunderstanding brought about by design. A scheme is apt to be either a speculative, possibly impracticable, plan, or a selfish or dishonest one: a scheme to swindle someone.

word story For plan

The English noun plan comes from the French noun plan “a sketch, diagram, drawing, ground plan, plane surface,” from the adjective plan “flat, even, plane (in geometry).” French plan is a Latinized form of plain (with the same meanings), from the Latin adjective plānus “flat, level, horizontal, two-dimensional, plane (in geometry).” The French noun plan is also partly an alteration of the earlier French noun plant, a derivative of the verb planter “to plant, drive in, stick in, fix in place,” from Latin plantāre “to set in place, fix in place, plant, transplant.”
The meaning “an organized proposal or scheme of action” first appeared in 1635; the more etymological meaning “a drawing or diagram of an object made by projection on a horizontal plane” appeared in 1664.
The earliest citation for “a formal program for specified benefits” is first recorded in 1912, with specific reference to a savings plan.

Other words for plan

Other words from plan

  • planless, adjective
  • plan·less·ness, noun
  • mis·plan, verb, mis·planned, mis·plan·ning.
  • outplan, verb (used with object), out·planned, out·plan·ning.
  • o·ver·plan, verb, o·ver·planned, o·ver·plan·ning.
  • pre·plan, verb, pre·planned, pre·plan·ning.
  • re·plan, verb (used with object), re·planned, re·plan·ning.
  • un·der·plan, verb (used with object), un·der·planned, un·der·plan·ning.
  • un·plan, verb (used with object), un·planned, un·plan·ning.
  • well-planned, adjective

Words that may be confused with plan

Other definitions for plan- (2 of 2)

plan-

  1. variant of plano-1 before a vowel: planate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use plan in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plan

plan

/ (plæn) /


noun
  1. a detailed scheme, method, etc, for attaining an objective

  2. (sometimes plural) a proposed, usually tentative idea for doing something

  1. a drawing to scale of a horizontal section through a building taken at a given level; a view from above an object or an area in orthographic projection: Compare ground plan (def. 1), elevation (def. 5)

  2. an outline, sketch, etc

  3. (in perspective drawing) any of several imaginary planes perpendicular to the line of vision and between the eye and object depicted

verbplans, planning or planned
  1. to form a plan (for) or make plans (for)

  2. (tr) to make a plan of (a building)

  1. (tr; takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to have in mind as a purpose; intend

Origin of plan

1
C18: via French from Latin plānus flat; compare plane 1, plain 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with plan

plan

In addition to the idiom beginning with plan

  • plan on

also see:

  • best-laid plans

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.