layout

American  

[ley-out] / ˈleɪˌaʊt /

noun

1. an arrangement or plan.

   We objected to the layout of the house.

2. the act of laying or spreading out.

3. a plan or sketch, as of an advertisement or a page of a newspaper or magazine, indicating the arrangement and relationship of the parts, as of type and artwork.

4. (in advertising, publishing, etc.) the technique, process, or occupation of making layouts.

5. Journalism. spread.

6. Informal. a place, as of residence or business, and the features that go with it; a setup.

   a fancy layout with a swimming pool and a tennis court.

7. Informal. a display or spread, as of dishes at a meal.

8. a collection or set of tools, implements, or the like.

9. Cards. an arrangement of cards dealt according to a given pattern, as in solitaire.

10. Diving, Gymnastics. a body position in which one is fully extended and arched backward, with the legs together and straight, the head thrown back, and the arms extended sideways.

---

Etymology

Origin of layout

1840–50, noun use of verb phrase lay out

Explanation

A layout is a plan or design, like the odd layout of your friend's house, where you have to walk through two bedrooms to get to the bathroom. Anything that's planned on paper and then constructed in three dimensions has a layout, including houses, buildings, cities, parks, and gardens. Newspapers, magazines, and websites have layouts too: the way words and images are organized together on the page. The verb came first, from the sense of laying out or arranging the letters of a manuscript before printing them.

Example Sentences

An open layout features an entryway with two elegant staircases, while the kitchen is outfitted with a Sub-Zero fridge, Wolf gas stove, and large walk-in pantry.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

There is no fixed pathway; the layout is deliberately designed to be, as contemporary museumspeak puts it, “nonhierarchical.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The layout of the buildings is highly unusual, with no known parallels in the Roman provinces of Germania or Gaul.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026

"But in Charlotte, they've got the latest technology and recovery. The layout of these are all very much equipped for what we want, what we expect and what the players want day-to-day at their clubs."

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

In the layout, the faces of the men with their names below filled the double-page spreads like a high-school yearbook.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Related Words

• blueprint
• chart
• design
• geography
• map