to construct a master plan for.
to master-plan one's career.
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.
First recorded in 1925–30
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
River master plan, the Broadway-Manchester streetscape project and the park under the Sixth Street bridge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
The master plan fills in that concept with extensive detail, historical data, environmental guidelines and design principles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
So what’s his master plan to pull his campaign out of a stall?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
Skipping grades in school was part of Dad’s master plan.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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 James, Henry
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
But North Bay Road isn’t an island or master-planned enclave.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
Residents used to the quiet safety of the master-planned suburban community were perplexed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 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
Lendlease Group and Alphabet's Google reached a mutual agreement to end development services deals for four master-planned districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Australian developer said on Friday.
From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 2023
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
Pereira and Luckman's biggest master-planning job to date: overall supervision of U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
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.
