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• plan
  plan

  noun

  a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance.
• plan-
  plan-

  variant of plano- before a vowel.

plan

¹ American  

[plan] / plæn /

noun

• plans
  plural

1. 

   a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance.

   battle plans.

   Synonyms:

   system, formula, plot

2. a design or scheme of arrangement.

   an elaborate plan for seating guests.

3. a specific project or definite purpose.

   plans for the future.

4. Also called plan view. a drawing made to scale to represent the top view or a horizontal section of a structure or a machine, as a floor layout of a building.

   Synonyms:

   chart, diagram, draft, sketch

5. a representation of a thing drawn on a plane, as a map or diagram.

   a plan of the dock area.

6. (in perspective drawing) one of several planes in front of a represented object, and perpendicular to the line between the object and the eye.

7. a formal program for specified benefits, needs, etc..

   a pension plan.

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verb (used with object)

• plans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• planned,
  past participle,  past
• planning
  present participle

1. to arrange a method or scheme beforehand for (any work, enterprise, or proceeding).

   to plan a new recreation center.

   Synonyms:

   plot, devise, design

2. to make plans for.

   to plan one's vacation.

3. to draw or make a diagram or layout of, as a building.

verb (used without object)

• plans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• planned,
  past participle,  past
• planning
  present participle

1. to make plans.

   to plan ahead; to plan for one's retirement.

plan- ² American  

1. variant of plano- before a vowel.

   planate.

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plan British  

/ plæn /

noun

1. a detailed scheme, method, etc, for attaining an objective

2. (sometimes plural) a proposed, usually tentative idea for doing something

3. a drawing to scale of a horizontal section through a building taken at a given level; a view from above an object or an area in orthographic projection Compare ground plan elevation

4. an outline, sketch, etc

5. (in perspective drawing) any of several imaginary planes perpendicular to the line of vision and between the eye and object depicted

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verb

1. to form a plan (for) or make plans (for)

2. (tr) to make a plan of (a building)

3. (tr; takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to have in mind as a purpose; intend

plan Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing plan

• best-laid plans

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Usage

What is a basic definition of plan? A plan is a program or method prepared ahead of time, a project or definite purpose, or a design or drawing of something. Plan has several other senses as a noun and a verb. When you come up with a plan, you are creating a method or scheme to do something, make something, or take another kind of action, like a plan for getting your homework done. If someone does something without thinking about what to do, how to do it, and when to do it, they don’t have a plan. A plan doesn’t have to be written down, though. It may only exist in your mind. A person who comes up with a plan is a planner.

• Real-life examples: Your school very likely has a plan for everyone leaving the building if there is a fire. Criminals often come up with a plan  of how they will steal something and when so that they will know what to do and be able to leave quickly.
• Used in a sentence: The prisoners needed hot air balloons for their elaborate escape plan. 

Plan is used in this same sense as a verb to mean to scheme something ahead of time.

• Used in a sentence: We planned a surprise party for my dad. 

Plan can also mean a project or definite purpose that someone has thought about or has scheduled to happen. In this sense, it is often used in the plural as plans.

• Used in a sentence: She couldn’t go hiking with us because she had already made plans to travel to California.

Plan is also used as a synonym for diagram and blueprint. A plan of a warehouse, for example, will likely include drawings of the building’s layout or an outline of where wiring and pipes are located within the walls. Usually, an architect or designer will draw up a plan of a building or prototype so that the builders will know what to do.

• Used in a sentence: The fire chief got the building plan from the janitor, so he could find the circuit breaker.

Synonym Usage

Plan, project, design, scheme imply a formulated method of doing something. Plan refers to any method of thinking out acts and purposes beforehand: What are your plans for today? A project is a proposed or tentative plan, often elaborate or extensive: an irrigation project. Design suggests art, dexterity, or craft (sometimes evil and selfish) in the elaboration or execution of a plan, and often tends to emphasize the purpose in view: a misunderstanding brought about by design. A scheme is apt to be either a speculative, possibly impracticable, plan, or a selfish or dishonest one: a scheme to swindle someone.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• planlessness
  noun
• misplan
  verb
• overplan
  verb
• preplan
  verb
• outplan
  verb (used with object)
• replan
  verb (used with object)
• underplan
  verb (used with object)
• unplan
  verb (used with object)
• planless
  adjective
• well-planned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plans
  plural

Participles

• planning
  present
• planned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• plan
  simple
• plans
  simple
• have planned
  perfect
• has planned
  perfect
• am planning
  progressive
• are planning
  progressive
• is planning
  progressive
• have been planning
  perfect progressive
• has been planning
  perfect progressive

Past

• planned
  simple
• had planned
  perfect
• was planning
  progressive
• were planning
  progressive
• had been planning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will plan
  simple
• will have planned
  perfect
• will be planning
  progressive
• will have been planning
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of plan

First recorded in 1670–80; from French: “ground, plan, groundwork, scheme,” noun use of the adjective: “flat” ( see plane ¹), a learned borrowing of Latin plānus “level” ( cf. plain ¹)

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Explanation

Do you have an idea of what you want and have thought carefully and in detail about how to get it? Then you have a plan, a series of actions required to achieve a particular goal. A plan can exist only in your head, or it can be a physical object, such as an architectural plan of a building, showing how you propose to build it. As a verb, plan means the act of thinking about how to achieve your aims. You might plan to apply to colleges soon. When you plan something, you're laying the seeds for a future result, so it's not surprising that plan comes from the early English word plante, meaning "seedling."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plan plan- plans planned planning

While she studied for an associate degree for business administration—a fallback plan, she says—Mitchell balanced working 25 hours a week with one day of flying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026

This is why the BBC has its own Black Sky plan.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

But 2026 hasn’t gone according to plan for Moscow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026

"It was originally thought we should plan for five to seven days," I was told quietly by one BBC insider.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

But we had become animals, incapable of plan or system.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

“Correct. With their defenses in shambles, the Keepers stalled for time, putting off answering Icarion’s demands. The Icarions were not fooled. “They moved the Protocol into the space between the two plan- ets.

From The Verge ● Jun. 11, 2019

The team says they need time to perform an investigation into the commissioner’s grounds for attempting to end the Dodgers’ plan- filing exclusivity.

From BusinessWeek ● Sep. 28, 2011

Kepler’s third or harmonic law, a precise connection between the size of a plan- et’s orbit and the period for it to go once around the Sun.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

"Grub" in other words, supper, was served, a prodigious number of "plan- cakes" being consumed.

From Cowboy Dave by Frank V. Webster

But AI has been such a major factor in the rates picture this year that an altered trajectory for it might just shift the Fed’s plans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Trustees board chairwoman Anne Meinig Smalling, added: "This confidence is rooted not only in the administration's actions to date and plans moving forward, but also in its track record of navigating complex problems."

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

So, if the Dodgers want their new hitting coach to meet with hitters or contribute to their offseason hitting plans, they will have to finalize the hire or promotion in the next few weeks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Its rival OpenAI has already pushed back its IPO plans to sometime next year.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

She goes back to her plate now, not eating but pushing bits of food around, having said all she plans to say.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Fiorani estimates new factories planned by automakers will add enough capacity to build more than one million additional vehicles a year in the U.S. by 2030.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026

I planned a trip to New York to retrieve the few belongings I’d left there, and when I told Matt, he asked whether he could take me out on a proper date.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

The statement said the planned appeal was both on Mr Justice Nicklin's dismissal of their claims and a subsequent indemnity costs order.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

DraftKings on Thursday said it planned to invest $650 million to $700 million in prediction markets this year.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

Had his parents planned to travel with them so young?

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

These findings challenge the sharp distinction between "forest" and "open habitats" that often guides conservation planning today.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2026

This season, the undefeated Tarleton State football team reached No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision for the first time in school history, and it’s planning the leap to the sport’s highest level.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Long term, he is planning a late-2027 opening of a second, more upscale restaurant in the venue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Turkey is planning to open its first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu on the Mediterranean coast with the first reactor scheduled to be online by the year's end, Bayraktar said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

“You forgot about planning your funeral,” Jonah said.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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Related Words

• arrangement
• deal
• idea
• intention
• method
• policy
• procedure
• program
• project
• proposal
• strategy
• suggestion
• system
• treatment

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