planning

1. 1
   deciding aheadnoununcountable

   The act or process of working out in advance how to do something, including how to deal with things that might go wrong.

   Careful planning prevented most of the problems the team had feared.

   Months of planning went into organizing the city's annual festival.

   UsageUsually with no a or an: careful planning, months of planning. You do the planning for an event or a future need.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of plan.

   The committee is planning a new park for the neighborhood.

   They spent two weeks planning the route before setting off.

   UsageSpelled with nn. Be planning to + verb means intend: we're planning to leave early.

   Note

   As a participle it carries every use of the verb: designing a building, drawing up a scheme for something, or simply intending, as in planning to leave. As a gerund it shades into the noun for drawing up plans: planning the route and careful planning name much the same activity.

3. 3
   land usenoununcountable

   The work of regulating and designing how land in a town, city, or region is used, developed, and built on.

   She left architecture for planning, where she could shape whole neighborhoods instead of single buildings.

   The county planning board approved new zoning rules for the riverfront.

   UsageOften before another noun: a planning board, a planning department, planning rules.

   Note

   This is a profession and a branch of local government, often named in full as town, city or urban planning. It is the field behind the short form for planning permission, where the single word stands for the official consent to build.

4. 4
   building permissionnouncolloquialBritishuncountable

   Official permission from a local authority to carry out building or development work.

   The developers finally secured planning for the riverside flats.

   Without planning, you cannot legally extend the property.

   UsageShort for planning permission, used with get, secure or refuse: get planning for an extension. Use the full phrase in formal writing.

   Similarpermission, consent

   Note

   British speakers clip planning permission down to its first word, so planning alone means the official go-ahead to build.

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