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

Organized around what Ferrari deems a “dual-cockpit layout,” the swank, future-curious cabin design imagines driver and passenger bonding over the 10.25-inch central touch-screen display.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

He said that he and First Lady Melania Trump participated in its design.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

“The intent of the design is malicious — it’s immoral,” said Joey Schilling, who drives the road six days a week and wrote a social media post criticizing the project that drew almost 1,000 comments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

It’s a stark contrast to the National Museum of African American History & Culture, which opened in 2016 under the direction of Bunch and, notably, has a clear chronological design.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

“All I do is herd the kids from one place to the other and give them ice packs if they get hurt. Sylvie’s letting Amber design a whole unit.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

These were the Rams that most everyone anticipated seeing, the team with designs on ending this season with another Super Bowl at SoFi, where they raised the Lombardi Trophy in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

The resulting nanoparticles produce a much stronger signal than earlier designs.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Pattison is now head of operations for Tierco Healthcare, a company that designs specialists seats for hospitals and care facilities.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Kiffin took assistant coaches, top-secret play designs, and even tried to lift the star quarterback, too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

As soon as I could work with a needle, I was allowed to stitch simple designs.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

It ends a lawsuit alleging TikTok is intentionally designed to addict children to its features, mirroring a host of lawsuits against social media platforms.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

So before he designed a single play, Sumrall spent the offseason hellbent on a much more fundamental mission.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Eiko Ishioka designed the blood-red battle armor with a ribbed surface evoking both exposed human musculature and an armadillo’s shell, while the pointed helmet foreshadows the wolf Dracula later becomes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

The company has said it "designed its platform with teen safety as a key priority."

From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026

Part of me wants to tell Nash and Oliver that most of the world is designed for boys, so they should learn something from Frozen.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

In August, Meta agreed to pay $18 billion to settle a sweeping lawsuit brought by US states accusing it of designing Instagram and Facebook to get children addicted.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

The Vigars said Chichester FC have been "amazing" during the past year, including designing a kit that makes moving but subtle references to their son.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

The findings could help researchers better understand existing complex systems, particularly ecological networks, while also providing engineers with new strategies for designing systems from the ground up.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

I started working at Mattel in 1999 designing Barbie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

She was not a minx, not deceitful, not designing and heartless.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

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