project

[ noun proj-ekt, -ikt; verb pruh-jekt ]
See synonyms for: projectprojects on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. something that is contemplated, devised, or planned; plan; scheme: I have several little projects around the house that I’d like to tackle in my time off.

  2. a large or major undertaking, especially one involving considerable money, personnel, and equipment: The city is undertaking several public works projects to modernize and upgrade infrastructure.

  1. a specific task of investigation, especially in scholarship: Federal funding supports some cancer-related projects while other research is sustained by private grants.

  2. Education. a supplementary, long-term educational assignment necessitating personal initiative, undertaken by an individual student or a group of students: For my literature class project, I wrote an original rock opera and performed one song from it.

  3. the projects, Informal. a housing project, typically one constructed as a development of high-rise towers with apartments for low-income residents, especially in the second half of the 20th century: Back in those days, the projects were no place to raise a family.

verb (used with object)pro·ject [pruh-jekt] /prəˈdʒɛkt/
  1. to propose, contemplate, or plan.

  2. to throw, cast, or impel forward or onward.

  1. to set forth or calculate (some future thing): They projected the building costs for the next five years.

  2. to throw or cause to fall upon a surface or into space, as a ray of light or a shadow.

  3. to cause (a figure or image) to appear, as on a background.

  4. to regard (something within the mind, as a feeling, thought, or attitude) as having some form of reality outside the mind: He projected a thrilling picture of the party's future.

  5. to cause to jut out or protrude.

  6. Geometry.

    • to throw forward an image of (a figure or the like) by straight lines or rays, either parallel, converging, or diverging, that pass through all its points and reproduce it on another surface or figure.

    • to transform the points (of one figure) into those of another by a correspondence between points.

  7. to present (an idea, program, etc.) for consideration or action:They made every effort to project the notion of world peace.

  8. to use (one's voice, gestures, etc.) forcefully enough to be perceived at a distance, as by all members of the audience in a theater.

  9. to communicate clearly and forcefully (one's thoughts, personality, role, etc.) to an audience, as in a theatrical performance; produce a compelling image of.

  10. to cause (the voice) to appear to come from a source other than oneself, as in ventriloquism; throw.

verb (used without object)pro·ject [pruh-jekt] /prəˈdʒɛkt/
  1. to extend or protrude beyond something else.

  2. to use one's voice forcefully enough to be heard at a distance, as in a theater.

  1. to produce a clear impression of one's thoughts, personality, role, etc., in an audience; communicate clearly and forcefully.

  2. Psychology. to ascribe one's own feelings, thoughts, or attitudes to others.

Origin of project

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun project(e) “design, plan,” from Medieval Latin prōjectum, Latin: “projecting part,” noun use of neuter of Latin prōjectus, past participle of prōicere “to throw forward, extend,” equivalent to prō- pro-1 + -icere, combining form of jacere “to throw”

synonym study For project

1. See plan.

Other words for project

Other words from project

  • pro·ject·a·ble, adjective
  • pro·ject·ing·ly, adverb
  • coun·ter·proj·ect, noun
  • non·pro·ject·ing, adjective
  • re·pro·ject, verb
  • subproject, noun
  • un·pro·ject·ed, adjective
  • un·pro·ject·ing, adjective

Words Nearby project

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

How to use project in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for project

project

noun(ˈprɒdʒɛkt)
  1. a proposal, scheme, or design

    • a task requiring considerable or concerted effort, such as one by students

    • the subject of such a task

  1. US short for housing project

verb(prəˈdʒɛkt)
  1. (tr) to propose or plan

  2. (tr) to predict; estimate; extrapolate: we can project future needs on the basis of the current birth rate

  1. (tr) to throw or cast forwards

  2. to jut or cause to jut out

  3. (tr) to send forth or transport in the imagination: to project oneself into the future

  4. (tr) to cause (an image) to appear on a surface

  5. to cause (one's voice) to be heard clearly at a distance

  6. psychol

    • (intr) (esp of a child) to believe that others share one's subjective mental life

    • to impute to others (one's hidden desires and impulses), esp as a means of defending oneself: Compare introject

  7. (tr) geometry to draw a projection of

  8. (intr) to communicate effectively, esp to a large gathering

Origin of project

1
C14: from Latin prōicere to throw down, from pro- 1 + iacere to throw

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