projection

American  

[pruh-jek-shuhn] / prəˈdʒɛk ʃən /

noun

projections plural

1. a projecting or protruding part.

   Synonyms:

   jut, protrusion, overhang

2. the state or fact of jutting out or protruding.

3. a causing to jut or protrude.

4. the act, process, or result of projecting.

5. Also called map projection.  Cartography. a systematic construction of lines drawn on a plane surface representative of and corresponding to the meridians and parallels of the curved surface of the earth or celestial sphere.

6. Photography.

   1. the act of reproducing on a surface, by optical means, a remote image on a film, slide, etc.

   2. an image so reproduced.

7. the act of visualizing and regarding an idea or the like as an objective reality.

8. something that is so visualized and regarded.

9. calculation of some future thing.

   They fell short of their projection for the rate of growth.

   Synonyms:

   extrapolation, forecast, prediction

10. the act of communicating distinctly and forcefully to an audience.

11. Psychology.

    1. the tendency to ascribe to another person feelings, thoughts, or attitudes present in oneself, or to regard external reality as embodying such feelings, thoughts, etc., in some way.

    2. Psychoanalysis. such an ascription relieving the ego of a sense of guilt or other intolerable feeling.

12. the act of planning or scheming.

13. Alchemy. the casting of the powder of philosophers' stone upon metal in fusion, to transmute it into gold or silver.

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projection British  

/ prəˈdʒɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act of projecting or the state of being projected

2. an object or part that juts out

3. See map projection

4. the representation of a line, figure, or solid on a given plane as it would be seen from a particular direction or in accordance with an accepted set of rules

5. a scheme or plan

6. a prediction based on known evidence and observations

7. 1. the process of showing film on a screen

   2. the image or images shown

8. psychol

   1. the belief, esp in children, that others share one's subjective mental life

   2. the process of projecting one's own hidden desires and impulses See also defence mechanism

9. the mixing by alchemists of powdered philosopher's stone with molten base metals in order to transmute them into gold

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projection Scientific  

/ prə-jĕk′shən /

1. The image of a geometric figure reproduced on a line, plane, or surface.

2. A system of intersecting lines, such as the grid of a map, on which part or all of the globe or another spherical surface is represented as a plane surface.

3. See more at azimuthal projection conic projection cylindrical projection

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonprojection
  noun
• self-projection
  noun
• projectional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• projections
  plural

Etymology

Origin of projection

First recorded in 1470–80; from Latin prōjectiōn- (stem of prōjectiō ) “a throwing forward”; see project, -ion

Explanation

When you push something away from a central structure, that's called projection. If you predict that the Jets will win tomorrow's game, that's a projection, too — you're pushing your mind away from the present and into the future. The Jets and projection actually have a common linguistic ancestor. Both the ject in projection and the word jet come from the Latin root jactus, which means "throw." A jet plane throws itself — or projects itself — away from a central structure (the Earth) and into the air.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

projection projections

“He was our main target. Bo has the size, the swing, the projection and the drive to be a high-level Major League shortstop.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

For the current fiscal year, the company now expects sales of C$4.55 billion to C$4.75 billion, compared with a prior projection of C$4.4 billion to C$4.6 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

One example is the psychoanalytic concept of projection, which the researchers see as closely related to the brain's predictive processes.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 1, 2026

Her love was merely a projection, aided by David’s genuine affection.

From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026

A group of guys started an "astral projection" circle, where they would sit around a card table and concentrate on breaking down all their molecules into subatomic material and drifting through the fences.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Met Office projections indicate hot spells will become more frequent in the future, particularly over the south-east of the UK.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Both the historical results and the future projections include a mix of earnings metrics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

However, the findings suggest that projections of forests growing larger and storing substantially more carbon in a warmer, CO2 rich world may need to be reconsidered.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Employee unions have repeatedly downplayed financial warnings, saying that the projections don’t fully account for increases in state funding that are almost certain to become available.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Mr. Talk-a-lot spends the entire ride chatting about stuff like "sales projections" and "the satellite team in Dallas" and "quarterly reports."

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi

Related Words

• calculation
• estimate
• estimation
• forecast