plane

PLAYN/pleɪn/

14 meanings of plane

1
aircraftnouncountable
A flying vehicle with wings and engines that carries people or cargo.
Like a big metal bird that carries people across the sky.
The plane landed safely after the long flight.
We watched a plane take off from the runway.
UsageSay by plane or on a plane: we went by plane.
Similaraircraft, airplane, aeroplane, jet
Note
2
geometry (flat)nouncountable
A perfectly flat surface, usually imagined, as used in math or to describe how the body is divided.
Like an endless flat sheet of paper with no edges.
Two lines on a flat plane can cross at one point.
A circle is a shape drawn on a flat plane.
Note
3
flat surfacenouncountable
A flat, even surface.
Like the flat top of a table.
The table gave them a flat plane to work on.
Water settles into a smooth, level plane.
Similarsurface, face
4
level of beingnouncountable
A level or stage of being or growth.
Like climbing to a higher step, but in your mind.
She felt she had reached a new plane of understanding.
Meditation lifted him to a calmer mental plane.
UsageSay on a higher plane.
Similarlevel, dimension, realm, sphere
Note

Less common meanings

5
perfectly flatadjective
Completely flat and even, with no bumps or curves.
Flat like a calm lake with no waves.
Draw the triangle on a plane sheet of glass.
A plane surface has no dips or bumps.
UsagePlane means flat; plain means simple.
Similarflat, level, even, planar
Oppositeuneven, curved
Note
6
carpenter's toolnouncountable
A hand tool that shaves thin layers off wood to make it smooth.
Like peeling thin slices off wood, the way you peel a potato.
He used a plane to smooth the rough board.
The carpenter ran a plane along the door's edge.
Note
7
shave woodverbtransitive
To make wood smooth by shaving off thin layers with a tool.
Like shaving thin curls off a bar of soap to make it smooth.
He planed the board until it was flat.
You should plane the door so it closes properly.
UsageSay plane a board smooth.
Similarsmooth, shave, dress, level
8
glideverbintransitive
To move smoothly through the air without flapping or power.
Like a paper airplane drifting slowly down.
The hawk seemed to plane over the open field.
Paper gliders plane gently to the floor.
Similarglide, soar, sail
9
skim waterverbintransitive
Of a boat, to go so fast that it rises up and skims over the top of the water.
Like skipping a flat stone so it rides on top of the water.
The speedboat began to plane across the calm lake.
Once the boat planes, it skims along the surface.
Similarskim
Note
10
steering finnouncountable
A flat, thin part that uses moving air or water to push or steer a craft.
Like a flat paddle that pushes against water to steer.
The submarine tilted its planes to dive.
A diving plane on the side of the submarine helps it go deeper.
Similarfin, foil
11
treenouncountable
A tall, broad-leaved tree that drops its leaves in the fall.
Like the big shady trees you often see lining city streets.
A huge plane shaded the whole courtyard.
They planted young planes along the new avenue.
Similarsycamore
12
noundialectalNorthern UK
A large, broad-leaved shade tree, also called a sycamore.
13
noun
In computer text systems, one of 17 large groups of character codes.
14
nounrare
Any of several kinds of butterfly, mostly from Asia and Australia, that are called planes.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 2–5, 10

From Latin plānum, meaning "flat surface." It came into English in the 1600s to separate the geometry meanings from the word "plain."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The geometrical word derives from Latin plānum, meaning "flat surface." en.wiktionary.org
It entered English in the 1600s to distinguish the geometrical senses from other senses of plain. fr.wiktionary.org

Meanings 6–7

It goes back to a Late Latin word, plāna, meaning a "planing tool." That became plaine in Anglo-Norman, and then plane in Middle English.

Meanings 1, 8–9

A shortened form of the word "aeroplane."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Plane is a shortened form of aeroplane. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 11

The Ancient Greek tree name plátanos perhaps came from platús, meaning "wide, broad." Latin took the name as platanus, and Old French as plane. Middle English then took plane from Old French.