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master plan
master plannouna general plan or program for achieving an objective.
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master-plan
master-planverb (used with object)to construct a master plan for.
master plan
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to construct a master plan for.
to master-plan one's career.
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to develop or improve (land, a community, a building complex, or the like) through a long-range plan that balances and harmonizes all elements.
The engineers master-planned the island to provide for increases in the tourist population.
noun
Etymology
Origin of master plan
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Long Beach has been working toward this vision since it adopted its bicycle master plan 25 years ago, now with mounting urgency as auto-related fatalities rise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
A judge found the leases illegal, and the VA reached a settlement committing to draw up a master plan for 1,200 units for homeless veterans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Authorities in Vietnam's capital have been on a demolition blitz, knocking down thousands of homes to make way for bridges and other infrastructure projects as part of a 100-year master plan approved last month.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Kant didn’t set out with a master plan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
As Booth drifted off to sleep, he did not know whether his master plan had succeeded or failed.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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It's safe to assume that, in the over five decades of Decembers since Kennedy's first master-plan, the White House has been home to a few women who have no personal fondness for gingerbread or tinsel.
From Salon ● Dec. 12, 2020
The most recent master-plan shows a mixed-use scheme for 1,000 new homes in addition to a range of commercial, leisure and community uses, including a park and ride facility and a school.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2019
Many have tried to master-plan the vibrancy of an organic city; most have failed.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2017
Both will depend on master-plan designs to be selected after competitions that will begin in 30 days, the Democratic governor said.
From Reuters ● Oct. 20, 2014
He had talked to Mr. Dosson by the hour about his master-plan of making the touchy folks themselves fall into line, but had never dreamed this man would subsidise him as an interesting struggler.
From The Reverberator by Henry James
Spanning 30,000 acres, three counties and four zip codes, the Villages is a meticulously-landscaped master-planned community known for sunshine, socialising and an endless supply of recreational fun for those over the age of 55.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
When Sunnyside Yard was put forward in 2020, It was difficult to garner community support for a giant master-planned development in the middle of Queens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Steve Soboroff, who oversaw the master-planned development of Playa Vista, said the VA Town Center needed its own master plan conducted by a specialist in community building rather than housing developers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2024
Eppig, of the Urban Land Institute, pointed to a master-planned community in Colorado known as Sterling Ranch for inspiration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2024
“Spanish Castle Resort is truly a one-of-a-kind master-planned resort community,” says Tammie Freeman, a broker with Venture Real Estate Group.
From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2024
Pereira and Luckman's biggest master-planning job to date: overall supervision of U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Architects Whitney Smith and Wayne Williams are master-planning 80,000 acres to be called California City, in which more than 8,000 families have already invested some $15 million.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Pereira and Luckman landed their first big overall master-planning job in 1951: a huge guided-missile test center at Florida's Patrick Air Force Base.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.