layout

American  

[ley-out] / ˈleɪˌaʊt /

noun

1. an arrangement or plan.

   We objected to the layout of the house.

2. the act of laying or spreading out.

3. a plan or sketch, as of an advertisement or a page of a newspaper or magazine, indicating the arrangement and relationship of the parts, as of type and artwork.

4. (in advertising, publishing, etc.) the technique, process, or occupation of making layouts.

5. Journalism. spread.

6. Informal. a place, as of residence or business, and the features that go with it; a setup.

   a fancy layout with a swimming pool and a tennis court.

7. Informal. a display or spread, as of dishes at a meal.

8. a collection or set of tools, implements, or the like.

9. Cards. an arrangement of cards dealt according to a given pattern, as in solitaire.

10. Diving, Gymnastics. a body position in which one is fully extended and arched backward, with the legs together and straight, the head thrown back, and the arms extended sideways.

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Etymology

Origin of layout

1840–50, noun use of verb phrase lay out

Explanation

A layout is a plan or design, like the odd layout of your friend's house, where you have to walk through two bedrooms to get to the bathroom. Anything that's planned on paper and then constructed in three dimensions has a layout, including houses, buildings, cities, parks, and gardens. Newspapers, magazines, and websites have layouts too: the way words and images are organized together on the page. The verb came first, from the sense of laying out or arranging the letters of a manuscript before printing them.

Example Sentences

The sale will include work by emerging artists, but also some from big names like Ghanaian sculpture El Anatsui, whose New Layout instillation sold for $1.9m in New York last year.

From BBC • Oct. 12, 2022

Layout: the organization of elements on a page, including text, images, shapes, and overall composition.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Layout of the page is nice with display ads on the sides and liners going from top to bottom of the page.

From Washington Times • Oct. 28, 2018

Layout: Laid out in linear fashion, Houston’s main airport is a hub for United, which dominates Terminals B, C and E. Terminal A houses the other North American carriers, including Air Canada, American and Delta.

From New York Times • Sep. 1, 2016

Layout: the line numbers all end in col.

From Hudibras by Butler, Samuel

Related Words

• blueprint
• chart
• design
• geography
• map