design

American  

[dih-zahyn] / dɪˈzaɪn /

verb (used with object)

• designs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• designed,
  past participle,  past
• designing
  present participle

1. to prepare the preliminary sketch or the plans for (a work to be executed), especially to plan the form and structure of.

   to design a new bridge.

2. to plan and fashion artistically or skillfully.

3. to intend for a definite purpose.

   a scholarship designed for foreign students.

4. to form or conceive in the mind; contrive; plan.

   The prisoner designed an intricate escape.

5. to assign in thought or intention; purpose.

   He designed to be a doctor.

6. Obsolete. to mark out, as by a sign; indicate.

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verb (used without object)

• designs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• designed,
  past participle,  past
• designing
  present participle

1. to make drawings, preliminary sketches, or plans.

2. to plan and fashion the form and structure of an object, work of art, decorative scheme, etc.

noun

• designs
  plural

1. an outline, sketch, or plan, as of the form and structure of a work of art, an edifice, or a machine to be executed or constructed.

2. organization or structure of formal elements in a work of art; composition.

3. the combination of details or features of a picture, building, etc.; the pattern or motif of artistic work.

   the design on a bracelet.

4. the art of designing.

   a school of design.

5. a plan or project.

   a design for a new process.

6. a plot or intrigue, especially an underhand, deceitful, or treacherous one.

   His political rivals formulated a design to unseat him.

7. designs, a hostile or aggressive project or scheme having evil or selfish motives.

   He had designs on his partner's stock.

8. intention; purpose; end.

9. adaptation of means to a preconceived end.

design British  

/ dɪˈzaɪn /

verb

1. to work out the structure or form of (something), as by making a sketch, outline, pattern, or plans

2. to plan and make (something) artistically or skilfully

3. (tr) to form or conceive in the mind; invent

4. (tr) to intend, as for a specific purpose; plan

5. obsolete (tr) to mark out or designate

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noun

1. a plan, sketch, or preliminary drawing

2. the arrangement or pattern of elements or features of an artistic or decorative work

   the design of the desk is Chippendale

3. a finished artistic or decorative creation

4. the art of designing

5. a plan, scheme, or project

6. an end aimed at or planned for; intention; purpose

7. (often plural; often foll by on or against) a plot or hostile scheme, often to gain possession of (something) by illegitimate means

8. a coherent or purposeful pattern, as opposed to chaos

   God's design appears in nature

9. philosophy another name for teleological argument

design Idioms  

1. see by design; have designs on.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of design? Design means to create a plan or sketch of something that is going to be made later, especially a plan that details what the finished thing will do and look like. A design is the plan or sketch created as a result of this activity. Design also means to intend something for a specific purpose. Design has several other senses as a verb and a noun. Design means to sketch something out and draw up a plan of how the finished project will look and function. For example, the government will have a team design a new bridge before actually building it. This means that someone will draw a sketch of what they want the bridge to look like and determine how much weight they want the bridge to hold. The people who actually build the bridge will consult this plan to guide them in the construction. A person who makes these preliminary sketches is called a designer. Real-life examples: Architects design new buildings. Mattel and Hasbro design new toys. Microsoft and Apple frequently design new computers and gadgets. Used in a sentence: The engineer designed a new type of airplane wing. A design is the actual sketch or drawing that a person who is designing something creates. On the internet, you can find some early and original designs of many popular products we use today. Often, these early designs are quite different from the final product. Used in a sentence: The scientists were working on a design for a new type of spacecraft. Design also means to intend something for a specific purpose. Real-life examples: Hats are designed to be worn on the head. A lawnmower is designed to cut grass. Cars are not designed for driving underwater. Used in a sentence: The ad campaign was designed to attract more teenage fans. 

Synonym Usage

See intend. See plan.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-design
  noun
• overdesign
  verb
• redesign
  verb
• outdesign
  verb (used with object)
• predesign
  verb (used with object)
• underdesign
  verb (used with object)
• designable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• designs
  plural

Participles

• designing
  present
• designed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• design
  simple
• designs
  simple
• have designed
  perfect
• has designed
  perfect
• am designing
  progressive
• are designing
  progressive
• is designing
  progressive
• have been designing
  perfect progressive
• has been designing
  perfect progressive

Past

• designed
  simple
• had designed
  perfect
• was designing
  progressive
• were designing
  progressive
• had been designing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will design
  simple
• will have designed
  perfect
• will be designing
  progressive
• will have been designing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of design

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English designen, from Latin dēsignāre “to mark out”; see de-, sign

Explanation

To design is to conceive, create, sketch out, or invent something. An architect might design a new apartment building, and an inventor might design a new smart phone. Charles Eames, famous designer of fancy modern chairs, said "Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose." That's a broad definition, but then again, design is a broad field. School kids design book report posters, engineers design bridges, and politicians design arguments against their opponents. If you really want to explore design, take some time to examine the expert layout of a Picasso painting.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

design designs designed designing

This would speed up the design process, since each roofing job is unique.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The company has considered the risk as its engineers design a next-generation airplane, some of the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

The results could influence everything from the placement of future habitats to the design of equipment and the development of systems that allow astronauts to make use of resources already available on the Moon.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Adidas is suing Australian label White Fox for selling and advertising clothes with a four-striped design, arguing it is "deceptively similar" to the German brand's distinct logo.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Liz teaches me some basics of social media and website design, and by lunchtime, we’ve built a digital empire for my girl.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

And Monday, instead of studying abstract play designs, he was publishing some impenetrable language of his own to prove a decades-old mathematical conjecture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Taiwan is home to hardware production giants TSMC, which turns Nvidia's cutting-edge designs into silicon components, and Foxconn, which assembles the processors to make data centre servers.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

As the designs were only in the very early stages, they would be unveiled closer to their launch.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The companies are among the survivors of the quest to disrupt aviation using new aircraft designs, electricity and artificial intelligence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Abigail seconded the assessment, calling Hamilton “a second Buonaparty” whose imperialistic designs could only be guessed at.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Construction is underway in a mixed-use area designed to boost tourism in Omaha’s southern suburbs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Artex was designed to help organisations strengthen their cyber defences through security testing to find potential weak points.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Eventually, Walmart and its robotics partner designed small robots on wheels with motion and obstacle sensors, and are now installing them in more than a dozen warehouses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

That led to a change in how Ofsted assessed schools, bringing in report cards designed to grade schools on several areas, rather than focusing on one overall grade.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The servants all wore specially designed uniforms, says Seale.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

For much of the past year, Meta has been embroiled in a series of legal actions, accused of deliberately designing products that are addictive to young users.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

A much-cited U.S. analysis imagined a suburban county designing its waste system from scratch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Last year, the jury honoured Japan's Susumu Kitagawa, UK-born Richard Robson and American-Jordanian Omar Yaghi for developing a method of designing molecular structures.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Michelle Min began designing her own clothing and accessories, “and eventually the entire inventory became her stuff, and that’s where it all started.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

I may have no interest in designing clothes but I do love the ones Cinna makes for me.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• architecture
• arrangement
• composition
• construction
• drawing
• form
• idea
• layout
• map
• method
• model
• pattern
• picture
• plan
• scheme
• study