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Meaning of plan in English

 

plan
noun
US 
 /plæn/ UK 
 /plæn/
plan noun (DECISION)
 
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
What are your plans for this weekend?
[ + to infinitive  ] My plan is to sell the house and buy an apartment.
 
[ 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 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.
 Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
 
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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  ]
 
B2
drawings from which something is made or built:
The architect showed us the house plans that she had drawn up.
I'll send a set of plans for the new machine.
 More examples
 Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
 

plan
verb
US 
 /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 examples
 Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
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.
 Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Phrasal verbs
plan on doing sth
plan on sb/sth doing sth
plan sth out
(Definition of   plan  from the  Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus  ©

Cambridge University Press)

plan | INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH

plan
noun
US 
 /plæn/
plan noun (METHOD)
 
[ 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
US 
 /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  ]
UK 
 /plæn/ US 
 
[ 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
See also
action plan
business plan
cafeteria plan
contingency plan
dividend reinvestment plan
employee share ownership plan
floor plan
health plan
party plan
pension plan
 View all
 

plan
verb
UK 
 /plæn/ US 
-nn-
 
[ I  or T  ]
to think about the details of something that will happen in the future:
plan a project/mission/campaign They spent several months planning
the project.
go ahead/happen as planned If all goes ahead as planned, the
new superstore will open in November.
earlier/longer/less, etc. than planned Installing the new computer system has
taken far longer than planned.
 
[ I  or T  ]
to intend to do a particular thing in the future:
We're planning a change to our pricing structure.
A number of large residential developments are planned for the area.
plan to do sth In February of this year, the company filed for bankruptcy, and it
plans to auction its assets in late May.
plan (on) doing sth She plans on working as a freelance consultant once she
has left her current role.
 
[ I  ]
to think about and make arrangements for things that will happen in
the future:
Job insecurity makes it difficult for people to plan.
plan ahead The new tax guide tells you how to
plan ahead to keep any tax bills to a minimum.
plan for sth Airport bosses are planning for an extension of
the current terminal.
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
These examples are from the Cambridge English Corpus 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.
More examples
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 Cambridge English Corpus 
ambitious plan
Figure 4 illustrates this ambitious plan for export promotion.
 From Cambridge English Corpus 
backup plan
He was used as a backup plan when the remaining members of the gang failed to
accomplish their mission.
From 
Wikipedia
 
These examples are from the Cambridge English Corpus 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.
See all collocations with plan
Translations of plan
in Spanish
plan, proyecto, plano…
See more
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What is the pronunciation of plan?

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plaintiveness
plait
plaited
plaiting
plan
Plan A
Plan B
plan on doing sth
plan on sb/sth doing sth
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More meanings of plan
 All
 American plan
 floor plan
 game plan
 pension plan
 Plan A
 Plan B
 off-plan
See all meanings
 Phrasal Verbs
  
WORD OF THE DAY
commute
to make the same journey regularly between work and home

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