projection

American  

[pruh-jek-shuhn] / prəˈdʒɛk ʃən /

noun

• projections
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• nonprojection
  noun
• self-projection
  noun
• projectional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• projections
  plural

Etymology

Origin of projection

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

Explanation

When you push something away from a central structure, that's called projection. If you predict that the Jets will win tomorrow's game, that's a projection, too — you're pushing your mind away from the present and into the future. The Jets and projection actually have a common linguistic ancestor. Both the ject in projection and the word jet come from the Latin root jactus, which means "throw." A jet plane throws itself — or projects itself — away from a central structure (the Earth) and into the air.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

projection projections

It’s a projection onto the inanimate world of animism.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

Baader prices in around 26 billion euros of cumulative distribution from 2026 through 2029, above the French bank’s own projection of 21 billion euros.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

He also said using a projection that accounts for only 75% to 80% of that estimated benefit can help younger workers build a buffer into their retirement finances in case benefits are reduced.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

Anderson’s “Resident Evil” protagonist is not a projection of any specific viewer.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

“Thirty-one point two,” I mutter out loud, running my finger along the projection.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Government projections indicate the prison population will still rise to around 100,000 by the end of the decade despite early release schemes.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

HPE stock advances after the company outlines long-term revenue growth projections for its networking business.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Based on plan projections, total enrollment in Medicare Advantage is estimated to be 34 million in 2027, representing about 47.4% of all people enrolled in Medicare.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

The viper, which has two hornlike projections on its snout, feeds mainly on rodents and ground-dwelling birds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

She watched how quickly they loaded their film into the news-boxes, sending out tiny projections of her throughout the Marvellian world.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• calculation
• estimate
• estimation
• forecast