project

American  

[proj-ekt, -ikt, pruh-jekt] / ˈprɒdʒ ɛkt, -ɪkt, prəˈdʒɛkt /

noun

• projects
  plural

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.

   Synonyms:

   proposal

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.

3. a specific task of investigation, especially in scholarship.

   Federal funding supports some cancer-related projects while other research is sustained by private grants.

4. 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.

5. Informal. the projects, 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.

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verb (used with object)

• projects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• projected,
  past participle,  past
• projecting
  present participle

1. to propose, contemplate, or plan.

   Synonyms:

   devise, plot, scheme, contrive

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

3. to set forth or calculate (some future thing).

   They projected the building costs for the next five years.

   Synonyms:

   predict

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

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

6. 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.

7. to cause to jut out or protrude.

8. Geometry.

   1. 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.

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

9. to present (an idea, program, etc.) for consideration or action.

   They made every effort to project the notion of world peace.

10. 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.

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

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

verb (used without object)

• projects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• projected,
  past participle,  past
• projecting
  present participle

1. to extend or protrude beyond something else.

   Synonyms:

   overhang, obtrude, bulge

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

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

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

project British  

noun

1. a proposal, scheme, or design

2. 1. a task requiring considerable or concerted effort, such as one by students

   2. the subject of such a task

3. short for housing project

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verb

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

3. (tr) to throw or cast forwards

4. to jut or cause to jut out

5. (tr) to send forth or transport in the imagination

   to project oneself into the future

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

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

8. psychol

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

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

9. (tr) geometry to draw a projection of

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

Synonym Usage

See plan.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterproject
  noun
• subproject
  noun
• reproject
  verb
• nonprojecting
  adjective
• projectable
  adjective
• unprojected
  adjective
• unprojecting
  adjective
• projectingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• projects
  plural

Participles

• projecting
  present
• projected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• project
  simple
• projects
  simple
• have projected
  perfect
• has projected
  perfect
• am projecting
  progressive
• are projecting
  progressive
• is projecting
  progressive
• have been projecting
  perfect progressive
• has been projecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• projected
  simple
• had projected
  perfect
• was projecting
  progressive
• were projecting
  progressive
• had been projecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will project
  simple
• will have projected
  perfect
• will be projecting
  progressive
• will have been projecting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of project

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”

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Explanation

A project is a piece of work that is planned or intended. Plan a little extra time for your gingerbread house project — gluing the walls and roof can take a while. If you call a person your project, pronounced PRAH-jekt, it means you are trying to improve them by telling them how to behave, etc. As a verb, pronounced pro-JEKT, it means to jut out literally — The fireplace projects into the dining room — or figuratively — Try to project your ideas forcefully. If you assume another person is feeling the same things you are, you are projecting your feelings onto them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

project projects projected projecting

She had several offers from England, Mexico and the United States, but joined the ambitious project of US billionaire Michelle Kang at London City Lionesses in July.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

The marketing success of “You Can See Everything”—whose opening weekend was the best for a non-music documentary since “Fahrenheit 9/11”—combined secrecy around the project with the fame of the studio behind it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Fielder says he considered abandoning the project rather than accepting Evans’ demands.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Audi, which is a unit of Volkswagen, said the Georgia project would create around 4,500 jobs.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

“You’re going to ask your dad to help you with your science project this weekend, right?”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

For most of the year, Lyndon Laveaux is like any other artist in Los Angeles, auditioning for acting gigs, making music and writing projects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Wall Street projects adjusted earnings of $5 per share and postpaid phone net additions of 975,000 for the year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Bauza, who also voiced DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots and Luke Skywalker in various “Star Wars”-Lego projects, earned three statuettes at the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards over the course of his career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Areas across the country which are not yet strategic authorities will be able to access a share of the £285m funding to "unlock projects which will contribute to growth in their areas".

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

There were all the sweaters, mittens, hats, and scarves one might expect, along with some more, well, unusual projects.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

The projected energy shortfall “will likely increase the urgency, and premia paid, to secure time-to-power solutions in the U.S.,” the analysts said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

If the Rams keep playing the way they did Sunday, they could begin to round into a semblance of the team they were projected to be when they opened the season as Super Bowl favorites.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026

Two of the black holes lie near the galaxy's center, separated by a projected distance of just 620 light-years.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

Working health and sickness benefits have risen sharply since the Covid pandemic and the overall cost is projected by the Office for Budget Responsibility to increase from £68bn this year to £81bn in 2031.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

You will get a nice, round circle of light projected on the wall.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Research published in September by the Brookings Institution also found this connection, projecting that if the pattern held in the general election, tens of thousands of mail-in ballots could be rejected.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

Investors pointed to Meta’s potential ability to monetize the app, with one estimate from Truist Securities projecting Muse could add $28.5 billion of incremental revenue by 2030.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

But Netflix projected slower growth for the remainder of the year, projecting revenue of $13.4 billion, less than what analysts had forecast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

In other words, investors are getting sick of projecting payoffs from investments in technology with uncertain, far-off returns — and they’re also tired of debating what that means in the here and now.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The insects buzzed round his ears and suddenly a little cloud of flies flew up, disturbed from a projecting stone.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

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Related Words

• activity
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• proposal
• scheme
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• task
• venture

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