Meaning of plan In English

• 0 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

  • holiday plans

  • What are your plans for this weekend?

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

  • a pension/savings plan

  • Events of this type rarely go according to plan.

• 1 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)

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

  • I'll send a set of plans for the new machine.

• 2 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.

  • 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.

• 3 to design a building or structure:

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

• 4 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 ] a pension/savings plan

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

• 5 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.

• 6 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.

• 7 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%.

• 8 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.

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

  • a retirement/investment/savings plan

• 10 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.

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

  • a floor/seating plan

• 12 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.

• 13 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.

• 14 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.