blueprint

American  

[bloo-print] / ˈbluˌprɪnt /

noun

1. a process of photographic printing, printing, used chiefly in copying architectural and mechanical drawings, which produces a white line on a blue background.

2. a print made by this process.

3. a detailed outline or plan of action.

   a blueprint for success.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make a blueprint of or for.

blueprint British  

/ ˈbluːˌprɪnt /

noun

1. Also called: cyanotype.  a photographic print of plans, technical drawings, etc, consisting of white lines on a blue background

2. an original plan or prototype that influences subsequent design or practice

   the Montessori method was the blueprint for education in the 1940s

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verb

1. (tr) to make a blueprint of (a plan)

Other Word Forms

• blueprinter noun

Etymology

Origin of blueprint

First recorded in 1885–90; blue + print

Example Sentences

The next seven days may answer all three questions and provide a blueprint for the market heading into the first half of the year.

From Barron's

Now, using a 3D-printed mould based on an AI blueprint, and streamlining the process in other ways, "I can make this piece in one week" with a few more needed for hallmarking, he said.

From Barron's

This could become a blueprint for the industry.

From Barron's

It has a partial blueprint for how you think, and some of the knowledge that once made you indispensable is now a reproducible company asset.

From The Wall Street Journal

It would also be the blueprint for a career that consistently played against type.

From Salon

Related Words

• draft
• game plan
• master plan
• model
• prototype
• scheme
• sketch