project

American  

[proj-ekt, -ikt, pruh-jekt] / ˈprɒdʒ ɛkt, -ɪkt, prəˈdʒɛkt /

noun

• projects
  plural

1. something that is contemplated, devised, or planned; plan; scheme.

   I have several little projects around the house that I’d like to tackle in my time off.

   Synonyms:

   proposal

2. a large or major undertaking, especially one involving considerable money, personnel, and equipment.

   The city is undertaking several public works projects to modernize and upgrade infrastructure.

3. a specific task of investigation, especially in scholarship.

   Federal funding supports some cancer-related projects while other research is sustained by private grants.

4. Education. a supplementary, long-term educational assignment necessitating personal initiative, undertaken by an individual student or a group of students.

   For my literature class project, I wrote an original rock opera and performed one song from it.

5. Informal. the projects, a housing project, typically one constructed as a development of high-rise towers with apartments for low-income residents, especially in the second half of the 20th century.

   Back in those days, the projects were no place to raise a family.

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verb (used with object)

• projects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• projected,
  past participle,  past
• projecting
  present participle

1. to propose, contemplate, or plan.

   Synonyms:

   devise, plot, scheme, contrive

2. to throw, cast, or impel forward or onward.

3. to set forth or calculate (some future thing).

   They projected the building costs for the next five years.

   Synonyms:

   predict

4. to throw or cause to fall upon a surface or into space, as a ray of light or a shadow.

5. to cause (a figure or image) to appear, as on a background.

6. to regard (something within the mind, as a feeling, thought, or attitude) as having some form of reality outside the mind.

   He projected a thrilling picture of the party's future.

7. to cause to jut out or protrude.

8. Geometry.

   1. to throw forward an image of (a figure or the like) by straight lines or rays, either parallel, converging, or diverging, that pass through all its points and reproduce it on another surface or figure.

   2. to transform the points (of one figure) into those of another by a correspondence between points.

9. to present (an idea, program, etc.) for consideration or action.

   They made every effort to project the notion of world peace.

10. to use (one's voice, gestures, etc.) forcefully enough to be perceived at a distance, as by all members of the audience in a theater.

11. to communicate clearly and forcefully (one's thoughts, personality, role, etc.) to an audience, as in a theatrical performance; produce a compelling image of.

12. to cause (the voice) to appear to come from a source other than oneself, as in ventriloquism; throw.

verb (used without object)

• projects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• projected,
  past participle,  past
• projecting
  present participle

1. to extend or protrude beyond something else.

   Synonyms:

   overhang, obtrude, bulge

2. to use one's voice forcefully enough to be heard at a distance, as in a theater.

3. to produce a clear impression of one's thoughts, personality, role, etc., in an audience; communicate clearly and forcefully.

4. Psychology. to ascribe one's own feelings, thoughts, or attitudes to others.

project British  

noun

1. a proposal, scheme, or design

2. 1. a task requiring considerable or concerted effort, such as one by students

   2. the subject of such a task

3. short for housing project

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verb

1. (tr) to propose or plan

2. (tr) to predict; estimate; extrapolate

   we can project future needs on the basis of the current birth rate

3. (tr) to throw or cast forwards

4. to jut or cause to jut out

5. (tr) to send forth or transport in the imagination

   to project oneself into the future

6. (tr) to cause (an image) to appear on a surface

7. to cause (one's voice) to be heard clearly at a distance

8. psychol

   1. (intr) (esp of a child) to believe that others share one's subjective mental life

   2. to impute to others (one's hidden desires and impulses), esp as a means of defending oneself Compare introject

9. (tr) geometry to draw a projection of

10. (intr) to communicate effectively, esp to a large gathering

Synonym Usage

See plan.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterproject
  noun
• subproject
  noun
• reproject
  verb
• nonprojecting
  adjective
• projectable
  adjective
• unprojected
  adjective
• unprojecting
  adjective
• projectingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• projects
  plural

Participles

• projecting
  present
• projected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• project
  simple
• projects
  simple
• have projected
  perfect
• has projected
  perfect
• am projecting
  progressive
• are projecting
  progressive
• is projecting
  progressive
• have been projecting
  perfect progressive
• has been projecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• projected
  simple
• had projected
  perfect
• was projecting
  progressive
• were projecting
  progressive
• had been projecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will project
  simple
• will have projected
  perfect
• will be projecting
  progressive
• will have been projecting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of project

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun project(e) “design, plan,” from Medieval Latin prōjectum, Latin: “projecting part,” noun use of neuter of Latin prōjectus, past participle of prōicere “to throw forward, extend,” equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + -icere, combining form of jacere “to throw”

Explanation

A project is a piece of work that is planned or intended. Plan a little extra time for your gingerbread house project — gluing the walls and roof can take a while. If you call a person your project, pronounced PRAH-jekt, it means you are trying to improve them by telling them how to behave, etc. As a verb, pronounced pro-JEKT, it means to jut out literally — The fireplace projects into the dining room — or figuratively — Try to project your ideas forcefully. If you assume another person is feeling the same things you are, you are projecting your feelings onto them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

project projects projected projecting

Alexander Smith, Google's head of infrastructure and energy for the Asia-Pacific region, answered AFP's questions about the project:

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

"It said 'We have a very special project to discuss with you regarding the forthcoming Apollo 17 mission'."

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

“Spider-Noir,” which premiered in May, is a “Spider-Man” project that put a 1930s crime-thriller spin on the web-slinging superhero.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

He said his project would add needed lodging to the popular park, allowing more people to enjoy it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

‘It could be useful for our history project.’

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Many of the enormous projects spearheaded by Prince Mohammed are stalled or under review.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Martin said the city had accelerated certain projects to start as soon as the week of Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

"We are planning to invest in new clean energy projects -- built above and beyond what regulations require -- in Visakhapatnam," Smith said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

The longtime employee left to start his own company but in 2024, Google paid $2.7 billion for him to return to work on cutting-edge projects, including its most powerful AI technology, Gemini.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

He was giving himself the benefit of the doubt for why he hadn’t finished the letter, as the Cuba conference and other projects had interrupted his correspondence.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

It also projected that its larger package of restaurant improvements could generate approximately $100,000 in annual gross cash-flow benefits for an average U.S. restaurant, with most of those gains eventually benefiting the bottom line.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Smith said that "a development of this kind is projected to generate approximately $688 million in local economic activity every year".

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

OpenAI reportedly told investors that its annualized revenue was reaching $50 billion toward the end of September — $20 billion short of the $70 billion it had previously projected, according to the Financial Times.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Fast Retailing reported record annual net profit, driven by strong earnings across regions, and projected further profit growth this fiscal year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Meanwhile, I projected my thoughts like crazy—anything to get Grover’s attention: Grover!

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan

Becerra finally unlocked the inner cholo so many of us have been waiting to see, instead of the Chicano Ned Flanders he’s been projecting for decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Quebec is among the hardest hit by the latest US tariffs, with experts at global forecasting firm Oxford Economics projecting a C$2bn blow for the province.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is projecting a more humble view after failing to jawbone the bond market.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

By placing a tether around captive moths and projecting stars on the wall, researchers last year showed how Bogongs used the Milky Way.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The blue girl’s ghost gathered itself and perched, bereft, upon the spearpoint-tip of the projecting finial, just an inch above her own still chest.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• activity
• business
• deal
• design
• enterprise
• job
• plan
• program
• proposal
• scheme
• strategy
• task
• venture