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

The project has incurred upfront costs, but they are expected to amortize as lawyers spend less time repeating instructions and readding documents, lowering Harvey’s inference costs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The district administration says the land being used for the project is owned by the government.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

The San Diego City Council still needs to approve the project.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

TerraPower received a construction license in March for a project in Wyoming after a shortened review period of about 18 months—but it took 1,000 engineers to make that happen, Chief Executive Chris Levesque said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

I had my Essa project out, charting my sketches, imagining what kinds of fibers would produce the best results.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

The projects have transformed some places -- such as Guian New Area, where the Huawei data centre and others are located.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

In 1983, the Greater London Council Grants Committee awarded one of his projects enough money to rent an office and employ staff.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Supporters of the projects say they will bring in thousands of jobs and potential windfalls for local landowners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Home Depot edged lower after reporting higher sales, though its CFO noted that steep interest rates and continued inflation are keeping homeowners away from larger renovation projects.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

His notebooks brim with ideas for massive projects.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Infant tuition at the centers rose 4% this year amid budget woes at UCLA, which announced in March that its central accounts faced a projected deficit of $220 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Over time, this mix of flattery and projected expertise does real damage, says Turkle, a clinical psychologist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Don’t worry, you didn’t miss a super-secret cut of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” that’s only projected on the side of Buc-ee’s locations nationwide.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

It's projected that the Crown Office will send more than 2,000 cases for prosecution at the High Court this year, more than double the number two years ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

"We are within one meter of projected path and two centimeters per second of projected velocity."

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

How we dress is all about projecting a story.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

People could also watch safely by projecting an image of the sun onto a white card using a telescope, a cereal box pinhole viewer, or even a kitchen colander.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Revenue amounted to $575 million, above the $570 million that analysts tracked by FactSet had been projecting.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

The exercise equipment and media company on Thursday set its expectations for fiscal 2027, projecting a decline in revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The postcards sat in rows, their heliograms projecting images of the Arcanum or celebrating the Marvellian holidays—Halloween, the Gatherfeast, Founder's Day.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

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