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

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Etymology

Origin of design

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

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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

Janae Pettit, a design consultant from Utah, came across the invitation on 1 April.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

"The new limit enables us to design optimum search strategies in the future," said Michael Meyer, a senior co-author of the study and chair of the University of Michigan's astronomy department.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

The design tends to overwhelm the drama, like giant swaths of bunting decking out a puppet show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Wolf hopes AwareCA — the first statewide version of its Aware app design — marks the start of a new era for emergency communication across the United States.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

Other than that small design, however, the whole thing looked completely ordinary.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

Compared with previous designs, the material can achieve a much broader range of thermal conductivities, closely approaching the properties predicted to be necessary for ideal thermal cloaking.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

The company suspected the three of leaking information to an external AI-safety researcher about one of OpenAI’s most closely guarded secrets: the internal designs of its artificial-intelligence models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Following a Mesoamerican tradition, farm workers used to etch simple geometric designs into thick paper made from tree bark.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

Homeboy’s Delgado said the nonprofit may later offer different T-shirt designs, or expand into mugs and other types of merchandise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

One of Jefferson’s most famous designs was a revolving bookstand that allowed him to keep several books open at once as he worked.

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

It’s designed to honor the memory of cherished animal companions that have passed away, and all Zoo guests may participate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026

The effect, says Ordway, is reminiscent of a start-up entrepreneur, designed to appeal to an urban, working-class electorate.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

It’s not known exactly what threats these wall-like structures were designed to counter.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

Horror’s surge has also yielded more films designed to play with our perception as opposed to the “Saw”-style torture porn dominating years past.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026

This handbook is designed to help new members of the Arcanum family learn the rules and expectations of our marvelous and spectacular center.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Such systems could potentially allow researchers to control when particular genes are activated or suppressed, opening new possibilities for studying disease and designing treatments.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

"Instead of designing a new material to enable optical switching, we redesigned the light itself and showed new properties that were not previously thought to be possible," Ndao said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

Startups are designing plants that glow or turn purple when disease or pests strike, empowering farmers to act quickly without widespread chemical use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Johnson, a former creative with Walt Disney Imagineering, leads Gensler’s entertainment and experiences division, which is designing the bookshop.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

But her resolve melted when she saw him before her, seated there beside her in the little garden, as if a designing Providence had led him into her path.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

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Related Words

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

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