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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

Porto says she and her siblings plan to keep the business rooted in Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

His plan was meant to be adaptable, updated in real time and ratcheted up if necessary, nimble enough to keep pace with the technology it’s trying to control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

A visit from Manchester United was not part of the plan.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

He added that Walmart’s new bundle was likely more about marketing for the company than actual use of the plan.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

If his plan worked -if the World Spirit answered his plea -the bear would be destroyed and the Forest would survive.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

“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

Porto’s also has plans to expand to the happiest place on earth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Medicaid plans and private insurers will often pay for up to about 40 hours of autism therapy a week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

The UK government said Wednesday that it had approved plans to begin drilling in a controversial new gas field in the North Sea, ending months of speculation about the future of the site.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

Ever since Uefa announced its plans to alter the format of the Champions League in 2021, the impact on matches has been a hot topic.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

In fact, she was laying her plans for tomorrow before Mr. Keating could get on his route with the news.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Though that drop was planned, the automaker is still working to recover the deficit, Rose said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Other planned investments include spending on Amazon Leo, which aims to provide high-speed internet via a network of satellites, and upgrading the company's retail and logistics warehouses to use more robotics.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

"He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him," Ten Hag told The Athletic, external.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Along with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the Social Security Administration said it planned to reduce its workforce, cut costs and move some services primarily online.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

He had planned to save his parents’ juice until he was desperate, but Abby was thirsty and she would be certain to have a tantrum if she didn’t get something to drink.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

When planning the route, “we didn’t exactly follow every single curvature of the coast,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Chair Baroness Hallet said a lack of testing, PPE and pre-pandemic planning combined with policy decisions early on "created an environment in which the virus could spread like wildfire".

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Fielder is a constant looming, presence in his TV shows, but he was not initially planning to be on camera, Fielder has said, until Holmes and Evans kept addressing him during filming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Turkey would continue to support Iraq and was planning "to elevate military and security cooperation between the two countries to a higher level" in the coming period, he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

At the heart of the expedition was the intense planning that went on before any diving took place.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

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Related Words

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

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