master plan

¹

noun

1. a general plan or program for achieving an objective.

master-plan

²

[ mas-ter-plan, mah-ster- ]

verb (used with object)

, mas·ter-planned, mas·ter-plan·ning.

1. to construct a master plan for:

   to master-plan one's career.

2. to develop or improve (land, a community, a building complex, or the like) through a long-range plan that balances and harmonizes all elements:

   The engineers master-planned the island to provide for increases in the tourist population.

master plan

noun

1. a comprehensive long-term strategy

Word History and Origins

Origin of master plan¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Members of the state Water Infrastructure Authority, a body tasked with financial planning for the state’s water and sewer utilities, gathered last month to ponder updates to North Carolina’s water infrastructure master plan.

From Salon

But if the leap from gangster to gladhander wasn’t part of a master plan, it’s not a far stretch.

From Los Angeles Times

"I think he was a great opportunist and I don't think he had some master plan at all."

From BBC

A “master plan” had been drawn up to improve health and education, transport connections and recreational facilities for the island’s residents, and to develop the fishing sector and the exploitation of coconut by-products, he said.

From BBC

Though the board has not formally endorsed a hotel, members have said in meetings that something like the Marines’ Memorial Club hotel in San Francisco should be considered in that master plan.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blueprint
• scheme