plan
noun
a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance.
had been planning
-
past perfect progressiveof plan.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Veteran journalist Hazem Bader had been planning to cover the Palestinians' olive harvest, a flashpoint for tensions in the Israeli-occupied territory.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
“I had been planning for things to end in June,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
I had been planning to spend days at the Oakland, Calif., courtroom where CEO Mark Zuckerberg was expected to appear, but it was all over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
AT&T had been planning to conduct $8 billion worth of share repurchases this year as part of a multiyear capital-return initiative.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Perrington had been planning this for too long.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
