blueprint

[bloo-print]

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to make a blueprint of or for.

blueprint

/ 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

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• blueprinter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of blueprint¹

First recorded in 1885–90; blue + print

Example Sentences

The Malian jihadists also see the seizure of Damascus by a former al Qaeda affiliate in December as a “blueprint” for their strategy, a United Nations report said in July.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Carney’s blueprint to lift Canada’s economy out of the current morass is set for unveiling next Tuesday, when the government presents its annual budget plan to lawmakers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The blueprint tackles many “quality of life” issues that critics say have contributed to lower foot traffic in the city’s tourist districts since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The region's city-states -- Ur, Uruk, and Lagash among them -- developed complex political and religious systems that became the blueprint for later societies.

Read more on Science Daily

It is a blueprint for a single person with no dependents.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

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