to construct a master plan for.
to master-plan one's career.
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.
First recorded in 1925–30
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So what’s his master plan to pull his campaign out of a stall?
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
There was a master plan, which was made by Renzo Piano.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
I don’t have a master plan to answer your question.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
The master plan doesn’t set out to pay for itself—the project would require a major public subsidy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
“Enough with the pity party. Senior years coming up. What's the master plan? 'Cause you gotta get out of that apartment.”
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
