projection

American  

[pruh-jek-shuhn] / prəˈdʒɛk ʃən /

noun

1. a projecting or protruding part.

   Synonyms:

   jut, protrusion, overhang

2. the state or fact of jutting out or protruding.

3. a causing to jut or protrude.

4. the act, process, or result of projecting.

5. Also called map projection.  Cartography. a systematic construction of lines drawn on a plane surface representative of and corresponding to the meridians and parallels of the curved surface of the earth or celestial sphere.

6. Photography.

   1. the act of reproducing on a surface, by optical means, a remote image on a film, slide, etc.

   2. an image so reproduced.

7. the act of visualizing and regarding an idea or the like as an objective reality.

8. something that is so visualized and regarded.

9. calculation of some future thing.

   They fell short of their projection for the rate of growth.

   Synonyms:

   extrapolation, forecast, prediction

10. the act of communicating distinctly and forcefully to an audience.

11. Psychology.

    1. the tendency to ascribe to another person feelings, thoughts, or attitudes present in oneself, or to regard external reality as embodying such feelings, thoughts, etc., in some way.

    2. Psychoanalysis. such an ascription relieving the ego of a sense of guilt or other intolerable feeling.

12. the act of planning or scheming.

13. Alchemy. the casting of the powder of philosophers' stone upon metal in fusion, to transmute it into gold or silver.

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projection British  

/ prəˈdʒɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act of projecting or the state of being projected

2. an object or part that juts out

3. See map projection

4. the representation of a line, figure, or solid on a given plane as it would be seen from a particular direction or in accordance with an accepted set of rules

5. a scheme or plan

6. a prediction based on known evidence and observations

7. 1. the process of showing film on a screen

   2. the image or images shown

8. psychol

   1. the belief, esp in children, that others share one's subjective mental life

   2. the process of projecting one's own hidden desires and impulses See also defence mechanism

9. the mixing by alchemists of powdered philosopher's stone with molten base metals in order to transmute them into gold

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projection Scientific  

/ prə-jĕk′shən /

1. The image of a geometric figure reproduced on a line, plane, or surface.

2. A system of intersecting lines, such as the grid of a map, on which part or all of the globe or another spherical surface is represented as a plane surface.

3. See more at azimuthal projection conic projection cylindrical projection

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Other Word Forms

• nonprojection noun
• projectional adjective
• self-projection noun

Etymology

Origin of projection

First recorded in 1470–80; from Latin prōjectiōn- (stem of prōjectiō ) “a throwing forward”; project, -ion

Example Sentences

Tesla's outlook did not include a projection for its expected 2026 auto sales, saying it would depend partly on "aggregate demand for our products."

From Barron's

While economists have dialed up U.S. growth projections, stimulative economic policies in Japan, Germany and elsewhere have helped overseas stock markets in recent months outperform their counterparts stateside.

From The Wall Street Journal

The projections show a striking increase in the prevalence of obesity over the past few decades in the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

In a city that feels rigid with concern about its own image projection, jazz is the only music that demands we abandon script.

From Los Angeles Times

In a recent note, Bhave slightly raised his projections for the U.S. economy’s 2026 first-half growth and reduced those for the back half, based on the potential stimulus from tax season.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• calculation
• estimate
• estimation
• forecast