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

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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”

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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

“When I leave a job, it’s this beautiful shiny sparkly project that I know will be there for years to come,” Heustess said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

The River Ash is one of about 260 chalk rivers in the world, and the restoration project has included the creation of new gravel beds.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Spanning an area the size of Singapore, the $700-million scheme is the first cross-border wind project in Asia and the largest wind farm in Southeast Asia.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Years of delays for the SkyLink people mover at LAX have led to finger-pointing, litigation and a grand jury probe into how a $1.9-billion project has become a $3.3-billion boondoggle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

‘And the best thing I’m learning through this project is that I’m brave enough to do the same.’

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

“None of our partners in any of the Design District projects are pursuing Opportunity Zone benefits,” Robins said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Bellingham said other wind farms were now riding "the coattails of Monsoon", with one Laos official pointing to 10 to 15 projects under development nationwide.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

"Strategic investment in projects such as the Public Engagement and Discovery Centre are part of a commercial growth strategy to help generate income while providing teaching and research space to further enhance the student experience."

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Seven volunteer Area Planning Commissions would be replaced by a single Neighborhood Appeals Board, cutting costs and standardizing rulings on liquor licenses, hillside homes and small-business projects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

And infrastructure projects meant using more and more land to build roads, railways, bridges, and dams.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

This past week, when Microsoft and Google forecast less AI spending than Wall Street analysts had projected, shares in several neocloud firms tumbled.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Across the rich world, budget deficits are projected to average 5.2% of GDP this year, up from 2.6% a decade earlier, according to International Monetary Fund data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

The program’s retirement trust fund is projected to exhaust its reserves in roughly six years — coinciding with each newly elected senator’s term.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

On Thursday, Intel projected adjusted earnings of 25 cents a share in the fourth quarter on revenue between $15 billion and $16 billion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

When he flew, his body, so long and graceful on the ground, took on the appearance of a thick, stumpy cylinder, from the front of which his red beak projected between his round black eyes.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

It’s also below consensus for underlying net profit, projecting a A$484 million outcome.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Analysts tracked by FactSet had been projecting 195,000 on average.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Research published in September by the Brookings Institution also found this connection, projecting that if the pattern held in the general election, tens of thousands of mail-in ballots could be rejected.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

Musk is also eyeing auto growth, projecting production of five million in 2030 compared with 1.7 million in 2025.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

I opened my eyes in time to see the Story Box glowing, and projecting images on the bulkhead.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

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Related Words

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

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