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

The so-called bottom-up projection — that is, adding up all the estimates of S&P 500 companies and then weighting by market cap — is $417.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Ravier, Milei's spokesman, said the base would have no "warlike character but will function as the most important logistics hub in the South Atlantic, providing operational and scientific support for our geopolitical projection toward Antarctica."

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

As you may remember from high school, most maps of the world use the Mercator projection, which features considerable distortions, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

While the analysts cut their 2026-2028 earnings estimates by 6.2%-11% on value-added tax’s effects, they retain their projection of a more than 65% dividend payout ratio, which implies a 7.9% yield.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Joana pushed through the door of the projection room, flushed and out of breath.

From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys

The vast majority of officials penciled in one more hike this year in interest-rate projections released after their meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The physical staging, featuring Aaron Rhyne’s projections, Matthew Richards’ lighting and Jonathan Burke’s sound design, is as imaginative as it is impressively extravagant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Nonetheless, he’s skeptical that owning a home can be a reliable source of wealth, and when he looks at retirement projections, he doesn’t factor in his home.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Investors will also focus on Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s press conference as well as updated economic projections, Commerzbank Research analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Since the statues were really holographic projections, they had chisel-type labels floating in front of their pedestals identifying who the famous people were.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• calculation
• estimate
• estimation
• forecast