Meaning of plan in English

plan

noun

/plæn/ uk

/plæn/

plan noun (DECISION)

Add to word list Add to word list

A2 [ C ]

a set of decisions about how to do something in the future:

a company's business plan

a negotiated peace plan

a five-year plan

vacation plans

plan for What are your plans for this weekend?

[ + to infinitive ] My plan is to sell the house and buy an apartment.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

an idea

ideaI've got an idea - why don't we ask John for help?
planThe plan is to rent a car when we get there.
thoughtHave you had any thoughts on presents for your mother?
suggestionHave you got any suggestions for improvements?
brainstormUS She was stuck until she had a brainstorm and the solution came to her.
brainwaveUK I wasn't sure what to do and then I had brainwave - I could ask Anna for help.

See more results »

[ C ]

a type of arrangement for financial investment:

a pension/savings plan

go according to plan

to happen in the way you intend:

Events of this type rarely go according to plan.

More examplesFewer examples

The government recently announced details of its plan to streamline the taxation system.
She explained her plan in a few brief sentences.
The plan entails rerouting traffic through a tunnel to create a vast pedestrian area around Al-Azhar.
The management board has set out its plans for the coming year.
We've had to forget about our vacation plans because of David's accident.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Plans and arrangements

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Stock markets

plan noun (DRAWING)

B2 [ C ]

a drawing of a building, town, area, vehicle, machine, etc. that only shows its shape from above, its size, and the position of important details:

a street plan (= a type of map of a town showing the roads)

a seating plan (= a drawing that shows where each person will sit)

cherezoff/iStock/Getty Images Plus/GettyImages

plans [ plural ]

drawings from which something is made or built:

draw up plans The architect showed us the house plans that she had drawn up.

More examplesFewer examples

architectural plans
The plans should be drawn as accurately as possible, showing all the measurements.
Have you worked out the seating plan for the wedding reception?
The shaded areas of the plans show where the houses will be built.
The developers submitted building plans to the council for approval.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Architecture

See more results »

plan

verb

/plæn/ uk

/plæn/

-nn-

plan verb (DECIDE)

B1 [ I + adv/prep, T ]

to think about and decide what you are going to do or how you are going to do something:

She helped them to plan their route.

If we plan carefully, we should be able to stay within our budget.

[ + question word ] She's already planning how to spend her prize money.

A2 [ I or T ]

to intend to do something or that an event or result should happen:

Our meeting wasn't planned - it was completely accidental.

[ + to infinitive ] I'm not planning to stay here much longer.

[ + adv/prep ] We only planned for six guests, but then someone brought a friend.

More examplesFewer examples

Do you plan to leave London in the distant future or the near future?
How do you plan to spend your vacation?
The four biggest banks are all planning to cut their service charges.
We're planning to turn the smallest bedroom into an office.
The route we had planned took us right across Greece.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Planning, expecting and arranging

See more results »

plan verb (DESIGN)

[ T ]

to design a building or structure:

The people who planned these new towns had a vision of clean modern housing for everyone.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Inventing, designing and innovation

See more results »

Phrasal verbs

plan on doing something
plan on someone/something doing something
plan something out

(Definition of plan from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

plan | Intermediate English

plan

noun

/plæn/

plan noun (METHOD)

Add to word list Add to word list

[ C/U ]

a method for doing or achieving something, usually involving a series of actions or stages, or something you have arranged to do:

[ C ] The financial plan calls for growth of 5% next year.

[ C ] They had plans to have dinner at a local restaurant.

[ C/U ]

A plan is also an arrangement for investment:

[ C ] a pension/savings plan

[ C/U ]

If something goes according to plan, it happens the way you wanted it to:

[ U ] Producing a new movie rarely goes exactly according to plan.

plan noun (MAP)

[ C ]

a drawing that shows the shape, size, and position of important details of a building or other structure, or of objects within it:

The floor plan showed us exactly where everyone’s office would be.

plan

verb

/plæn/

-nn-

plan verb (METHOD)

[ I/T ]

to think about and decide on a method for doing or achieving something:

[ + to infinitive ] She’s planning to visit her sister in Australia next year.

[ I always + adv/prep ] He planned on taking his vacation in July.

[ I always + adv/prep ] You’ve got to plan ahead and save your money for your retirement.

(Definition of plan from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

plan | Business English

plan

noun [ C ]

/plæn/ us

Add to word list Add to word list

[ C ]

a set of actions that are intended to achieve a specific aim:

a plan/plans to do sth The government has launched a $935m plan to create jobs.

a plan/plans for sth Plans for a share buyback are expected to be unveiled later this week.

have plans/no plans to do sth A representative of the bank said it had no plans to make further cuts in its bonus rates.

under a plan A further 2,500 job cuts are planned for this year under a plan to save €1.3bn in costs.

a strategic/financial/marketing plan Operations that do not fit the firm's overall strategic plan are currently being sold off.

a restructuring/spending/recovery plan

an ambitious/controversial plan

immediate/long-term/future plans

a three-phase/five-point/ten-year plan

have/come up with/draw up a plan You will need to have a plan to cover start-up expenses while you grow your business.

announce/unveil/reveal a plan The telecommunications giant yesterday announced a restructuring plan.

outline/formulate/finalize a plan Over the next few months, the board will finalize its plans for meeting the 2020 mandate on carbon dioxide emissions.

abandon/shelve/scrap a plan Plans to expand into Spain and Portugal were shelved during the recession last year.

keep to/stick to/follow a plan By sticking to our original plan, we finally made a success of the business.

approve/back/support a plan Ministers meeting in Brussels approved a plan to refinance the project.

agree/adopt/implement a plan Get your team around the table and agree a plan of action to give more attention to detail.

oppose/reject a plan

go ahead/press ahead/proceed with a plan

a plan involves/includes sth A new €30 million investment plan announced Friday includes the construction of new plants.

a plan fails/succeeds Plans to reassure investors failed and shares slipped 3%.

an idea about what you may do in the future:

What are your plans after you graduate from college?

a plan/plans for sth You need to sit down and think about your plans for retirement.

sb's plan is to do sth Their plan is to cut income tax for the lower paid.

FINANCE

a financial arrangement in which someone regularly saves or invests money:

a retirement/investment/savings plan

a detailed drawing or diagram of a machine or building that shows the different parts, rooms, etc., including their size and shape:

A team of architects drew up plans for the new office building.

a drawing of a room or other area that shows the position or arrangement of things inside it:

a floor/seating plan

Phrasal verb

plan sth out

(Definition of plan from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of plan

plan

They planned a gathering to see who would show up.

From Variety

Which, again, you should 100% plan to watch this weekend.

From Gizmodo

We'll help him in practice during the week to make sure we take care of him, but he's planning on playing.

From ESPN

But the plan isn't popular with some of the very people it's supposed to protect.

From USA TODAY

Students who usually plan dances didn't get involved with this one.

From CNN

I think it's been how we planned it out.

From The Seattle Times

The plan has nothing to do with the adults.

From CNN

They probably have, and may even have plans to roll it out.

From CNET

At 64, she had planned to retire this year.

From OregonLive.com

But such a plan may not end well.

From Business Insider

The most important action you can take is to plan ahead.

From Dallas Morning News

For example, on the basic plan, you get one revision within the first 48 hours.

From TechCrunch

Any plans to work with these students again?

From Huffington Post

Let me tell you, the smartest kids in the world can put together a great plan with no bearing on reality.

From The Atlantic

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with plan

plan

These are words often used in combination with plan.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

alternative plan

This approach provides an equivalent basis upon which to evaluate how alternative plan types and features influence a program's perceived value to employees.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

ambitious plan

Figure 4 illustrates this ambitious plan for export promotion.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

announced plan

As for the new road map, we welcome the fact that at least an effort is being made in terms of an announced plan.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

See all collocations with plan

What is the pronunciation of plan?