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design

[dih-zahyn]
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verb (used with object)
  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)
  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.
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noun
  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.
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Origin of design

1350–1400; Middle English designen < Latin dēsignāre to mark out. See de-, sign
Related formsout·de·sign, verb (used with object)o·ver·de·sign, verbpre·de·sign, verb (used with object)re·de·sign, verbself-de·sign, nounun·der·de·sign, verb (used with object)

Synonym study

5. See intend. 13. See plan.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for design

design

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. (tr) obsolete 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 workthe 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 chaosGod's design appears in nature
  9. argument from design philosophy another name for teleological argument
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Derived Formsdesignable, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Latin dēsignāre to mark out, describe, from de- + signāre to mark, from signum a mark, sign
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for design

v.

1540s, from Latin designare "mark out, devise, choose, designate, appoint," from de- "out" (see de-) + signare "to mark," from signum "a mark, sign" (see sign (n.)). Originally in English with the meaning now attached to designate; many modern uses of design are metaphoric extensions. Related: Designed; designing.

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n.

1580s, from Middle French desseign "purpose, project, design," from Italian disegno, from disegnare "to mark out," from Latin designare "to mark out" (see design (v.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with design

design

see by design; have designs on.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.