body plan

American  

noun

1. Biology. the basic shape of members of an animal phylum; the general structure each individual organism assumes as it develops.

2. Naval Architecture. a diagrammatic elevation of a hull, consisting of an end view of the bow on one side of the center line and an end view of the stern on the other side, marked with water lines, diagonals, bow or buttock lines, stations, and sometimes details of the hull.

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Etymology

Origin of body plan

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

It shows that important elements of their body plan were already established shortly after the Cambrian Explosion, a time when life was rapidly diversifying.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

There are over 6,000 living species of frogs known to scientists, as well as countless extinct species — and yet they all contain roughly the same skeletal body plan.

From Salon • Feb. 9, 2024

A set of molecular markers on a sea star’s genes determine the animal’s body plan, which includes its radial symmetry and organ structure.

From Scientific American • Nov. 3, 2023

“It seems the whole echinoderm body plan is roughly equivalent to the head in other groups of animals,” study co-author Jeff Thompson of University of Southampton said in a release from that British school.

From Washington Times • Nov. 2, 2023

It might seem intuitive for an embryologist to approach the problem of genesis forward—from the earliest events in the embryo to the development of a body plan of a full-fledged organism.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee