master plan
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to construct a master plan for.
to master-plan one's career.
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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.
noun
Etymology
Origin of master plan
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
Among the agreements signed on Wednesday was a framework for a Vietnam-South Korea "master plan on cooperation in science, technology and innovation".
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Colletti: I’ve got this master plan of telling my kid that his dad was on a TV show that was really cool back in the day.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
The estimated costs in the 2020 master plan have likely changed due to rising prices for materials and construction labor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Carney’s master plan for breaking U.S. dependency—extracting more natural resources and diversifying their export—will take years at best, and he may not be making the best start.
From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025
Outrage in Rome Mark Antony expected the Romans to see that his actions strengthened his master plan for successfully ruling the east on Rome’s behalf.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
