plot

[plot]

noun

1. a secret plan or scheme to accomplish some purpose, especially a hostile, unlawful, or evil purpose.

   a plot to overthrow the government.

   Synonyms: cabal, intrigue

2. Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.

3. a small piece or area of ground.

   a garden plot;

   burial plot.

4. a measured piece or parcel of land.

   a house on a two-acre plot.

5. a plan, map, diagram, or other graphic representation, as of land, a building, etc.

6. a list, timetable, or scheme dealing with any of the various arrangements for the production of a play, motion picture, etc..

   According to the property plot, there should be a lamp stage left.

7. a chart showing the course of a craft, as a ship or airplane.

8. Artillery.,  a point or points located on a map or chart.

   target plot.

verb (used with object)

plotted, plotting 

1. to plan secretly, especially something hostile or evil.

   to plot mutiny.

   Synonyms: frame, hatch, brew

2. to mark on a plan, map, or chart, as the course of a ship or aircraft.

3. to draw a plan or map of, as a tract of land or a building.

4. to divide (land) into plots.

5. to determine and mark (points), as on plotting paper, by means of measurements or coordinates.

6. to draw (a curve) by means of points so marked.

7. to represent by means of such a curve.

8. to devise or construct the plot of (a play, novel, etc.).

9. to prepare a list, timetable, or scheme of (production arrangements), as for a play or motion picture.

   The stage manager hadn't plotted the set changes until one day before the dress rehearsal.

10. to make (a calculation) by graph.

verb (used without object)

plotted, plotting 

1. to plan or scheme secretly; form a plot; conspire.

2. to devise or develop a literary or dramatic plot.

3. to be marked or located by means of measurements or coordinates, as on plotting paper.

plot

¹

/ plɒt /

noun

1. a secret plan to achieve some purpose, esp one that is illegal or underhand

   a plot to overthrow the government

2. the story or plan of a play, novel, etc

3. military a graphic representation of an individual or tactical setting that pinpoints an artillery target

4. a diagram or plan, esp a surveyor's map

5. informal,  to lose one's ability or judgment in a given situation

verb

1. to plan secretly (something illegal, revolutionary, etc); conspire

2. (tr) to mark (a course, as of a ship or aircraft) on a map

3. (tr) to make a plan or map of

4. 1. to locate and mark (one or more points) on a graph by means of coordinates

   2. to draw (a curve) through these points

5. (tr) to construct the plot of (a literary work)

plot

²

/ plɒt /

noun

1. a small piece of land

   a vegetable plot

verb

1. (tr) to arrange or divide (land) into plots

plot

1. The organization of events in a work of fiction.

Other Word Forms

• plotful adjective
• plotless adjective
• plotlessness noun
• outplot verb (used with object)
• overplot verb
• preplot verb (used with object)
• replot verb (used with object)
• unplotted adjective
• unplotting adjective
• well-plotted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plot¹

First recorded before 1100; the noun has multiple origins: in the sense “piece of ground,” Middle English: “small area, patch, stain, piece of ground,” Old English: “piece of ground” (origin obscure); in the senses “ground plan, outline, map, scheme,” variant (since the 16th century) of plat ¹, itself partly a variant of Middle English, Old English plot; in the sense “secret plan” (from the 16th century), by association with complot; the verb is derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of plot¹

C16: from _plot ², influenced in use by _complot

Origin of plot²

Old English: piece of land, plan of an area

Synonym Study

See conspiracy. Plot, conspire, scheme imply secret, cunning, and often unscrupulous planning to gain one's own ends. To plot is to contrive a secret plan of a selfish and often treasonable kind: to plot against someone's life. To conspire is to unite with others in an illicit or illegal machination: to conspire to seize a government. To scheme is to plan ingeniously, subtly, and often craftily for one's own advantage: to scheme how to gain power.

Example Sentences

One of two men accused of plotting to kill Jewish people in Manchester "hero-worshipped" the man behind the 2015 Paris attack in which 130 people were killed, a court has heard.

Read more on BBC

The plot of “Heart the Lover” hinges on the sort of surprises and communication glitches that were more prevalent before smartphones enabled constant connectivity.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Officials did not state whether it would be one or two cuts, though the Fed’s so-called dot plot indicated a slight majority favored two moves this year.

Read more on MarketWatch

Prosecutors said she had gathered information on four sitting justices, plotting their addresses on a map.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

To understand this unlikely plot twist, I had coffee with a former student, Emma Baker, creator of the podcast Stargirl, who also runs a personal training business.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• action 
• design 
• movement 
• narrative 
• scenario 
• scene 
• scheme 
• story 
• structure 
• theme