plane
1a flat or level surface.
Geometry. a surface generated by a straight line moving at a constant velocity with respect to a fixed point.
Fine Arts. an area of a two-dimensional surface having determinate extension and spatial direction or position: oblique plane; horizontal plane.
a level of dignity, character, existence, development, or the like: a high moral plane.
Aeronautics.
an airplane or a hydroplane: to take a plane to Dallas.
a thin, flat or curved, extended section of an airplane or a hydroplane, affording a supporting surface.
Architecture. a longitudinal section through the axis of a column.
flat or level, as a surface.
of or relating to planes or plane figures.
to glide or soar.
(of a boat) to rise partly out of the water when moving at high speed.
Informal. to fly or travel in an airplane: We'll drive to Detroit and plane to Los Angeles.
Origin of plane
1Other words for plane
Other words from plane
- planeness, noun
Words that may be confused with plane
Words Nearby plane
Other definitions for plane (2 of 3)
Carpentry. any of various woodworking instruments for paring, truing, or smoothing, or for forming moldings, chamfers, rabbets, grooves, etc., by means of an inclined, adjustable blade moved along and against the piece being worked.
a trowellike tool for smoothing the surface of clay in a brick mold.
to smooth or dress with or as if with a plane or a planer.
to remove by or as if by means of a plane (usually followed by away or off).
to work with a plane.
to function as a plane.
Origin of plane
2Other definitions for plane (3 of 3)
Origin of plane
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use plane in a sentence
Pilots are well aware that fierce vortices form at the wingtips of accelerating planes and separate from there.
An Unexpected Twist Lights Up the Secrets of Turbulence | David H. Freedman | September 3, 2020 | Quanta MagazineWengfeng Lu is arrested before boarding a plane to China, where he planned to start a company copying medical-device technology he stole from two previous employers.
A brief history of US-China espionage entanglements | Konstantin Kakaes | September 3, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewWhen operating, El Al’s planes have had to run a dogleg route to Mumbai, for example, down the Red Sea and up the Gulf of Aden to avoid Saudi airspace.
Israel’s El Al Airlines makes historic flight through Saudi airspace en route to UAE | Bernhard Warner | August 31, 2020 | FortuneAfter five years cleaning planes at LAX, and never flying on one of them, I’d finally learned what my grandmother meant when she said that your job is temporary, and your education is forever.
What I learned from 5 years of cleaning airplanes in the middle of the night | matthewheimer | August 30, 2020 | FortuneOne of the biggest impediments to self-flying planes is regulation, so the two founders tried to figure out how they could convince the FAA to approve unmanned flights without having to modify any existing regulations.
Cessna makes history by taking off and landing with no one aboard. Here’s how | Jeremy Kahn | August 26, 2020 | Fortune
Chérif was arrested in Paris in January 2005 as he was about to board a plane to Damascus along with a man named Thamer Bouchnak.
As we waited for my plane to come in, we stayed silent for a long time.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd then I got on a plane, and guess what was playing: I Never Sang for My Father.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“Call me when the plane leaves the ground,” she said, in a tone that implied she knew her husband well.
Mario Cuomo, a Frustrating Hero to Democrats, Is Dead at 82 | Eleanor Clift | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTOn Monday, Soelistyo had jolted relatives as well as searchers by suggesting that the plane could be “at the bottom of the sea.”
The sequestered spot, a seat beneath a plane tree, with a lonesome arc-lamp shining full upon it, was occupied.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeHence the latter is not level, but has, in places, steps which have been worn to an inclined plane.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry WithrowTherefore the families were strong, united, sound, resisting the storm like a line of plane trees!
Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred DownerThen he shaved this side of the block, then the other side, with a plane, a tool with a very sharp edge.
Seven O'Clock Stories | Robert Gordon AndersonHere was another plane of existence where the machinations of men seemed to matter little.
Mystery Ranch | Arthur Chapman
British Dictionary definitions for plane (1 of 3)
/ (pleɪn) /
maths a flat surface in which a straight line joining any two of its points lies entirely on that surface
a flat or level surface
a level of existence, performance, attainment, etc
short for aeroplane
a wing or supporting surface of an aircraft or hydroplane
level or flat
maths (of a curve, figure, etc) lying entirely in one plane
to fly without moving wings or using engines; glide
(of a boat) to rise partly and skim over the water when moving at a certain speed
to travel by aeroplane
Origin of plane
1Derived forms of plane
- planeness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for plane (2 of 3)
/ (pleɪn) /
a tool with an adjustable sharpened steel blade set obliquely in a wooden or iron body, for levelling or smoothing timber surfaces, cutting mouldings or grooves, etc
a flat tool, usually metal, for smoothing the surface of clay or plaster in a mould
to level, smooth, or cut (timber, wooden articles, etc) using a plane or similar tool
(often foll by off) to remove using a plane
Origin of plane
2British Dictionary definitions for plane (3 of 3)
/ (pleɪn) /
See plane tree
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for plane
[ plān ]
A two-dimensional surface, any two of whose points can be joined by a straight line that lies entirely in the surface.
Lying in a plane:a plane curve.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for plane
A geometrical location having only two dimensions — length and width (no height). (See coordinates and plane geometry.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse