# plan

Pronunciation: say "PLAN" /plæn/

## Noun

1. A set of actions worked out in advance to achieve something.
   - Simple: An idea of what you will do and how you will do it, worked out before you start.
   - _The escape plan depended on perfect timing at every stage._
   - _Their business plans fell apart when the funding dried up._
4. An arrangement to receive a service, usually for a recurring fee.
   - Simple: An arrangement that lets you use a service, usually for a regular payment.
   - _The streaming service offers three subscription plans at different prices._
   - _My old phone plan kept charging me for extra minutes, so I switched to one with unlimited calls._
5. A drawing of a building, room, machine, or similar seen from above or in outline, showing its layout and main parts.
   - Simple: A drawing that shows how a building or machine is laid out, usually as seen from above.
   - _The floor plan revealed an open layout connecting the kitchen and living room._
   - _The architect laid the plan of the second story beside the elevation so we could compare them._
6. A set arrangement under which money or rewards are saved, invested or handed out, such as a pension or an employee incentive program.
   - Simple: A set way to save or invest money, or to hand out money or rewards, such as a retirement plan.
   - _Employees can put part of each paycheck into the company's pension plan before taxes._
   - _The new incentive plan rewards store managers who cut waste and raise sales._

## Verb

2. To work out in advance the actions needed for something.
   - Simple: To work out the steps for something before doing it.
   - _The committee planned the entire festival in just two months._
   - _Engineers plan each phase of the construction before work begins._
3. To have something as one's intention.
   - Simple: To mean to do something later.
   - _They plan to expand into new markets next year._
   - _He had always planned to retire by sixty._
7. To design a building, machine, or similar structure.
   - Simple: To design something like a building or machine.
   - _She planned the entire museum around a central courtyard._
   - _They plan factories that minimize wasted floor space._

## Origin

English borrowed this from French plan ("a ground-plot of a building"), a later form of the word plain meaning "flat." This traces back to Latin planus ("flat, plane").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/plan (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).