Meaning of plane in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Classifying Adjective
    1. Definitions
  4. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /pleɪn/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent Play button

  1. Verb

    plane

    Definitions

    1. cut or remove with or as if with a plane

    Examples

    • « The machine shaved off fine layers from the piece of wood »

    Derived terms

  2. 2. travel on the surface of water
  3. 3. make even or smooth, with or as with a carpenter's plane

    Examples

    • « plane the top of the door »

    Derived terms

  4. Classifying Adjective

    plane

    Definitions

    1. having a horizontal surface in which no part is higher or lower than another

    Examples

    • « a flat desk »
    • « acres of level farmland »
    • « a plane surface »

    Synonyms

  5. Noun

    plane

    Etymology

    early 17th century: from Latin planum‘flat surface’, neuter of the adjective planus‘plain’. The adjective was suggested by French plan(e) ‘flat’. The word was introduced to differentiate the geometrical senses, previously expressed by plain, from the latter's other meanings

    Definitions

    1. an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets

    Examples

    • « the flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane »
  6. 2. (mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape

    Examples

    • « we will refer to the plane of the graph as the X-Y plane »
    • « any line joining two points on a plane lies wholly on that plane »
  7. 3. a level of existence or development

    Examples

    • « he lived on a worldly plane »
  8. 4. a power tool for smoothing or shaping wood

    Derived terms

  9. 5. a carpenter's hand tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing or shaping wood

    Examples

    • « the cabinetmaker used a plane for the finish work »

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « All morning they watched for the plane which they thought would be looking for them. They cursed war in general and PTs in particular. At about ten o'clock the hulk heaved a moist sigh and turned turtle. »
    John Hersey
  • « I remember my wife and I used to get on plane and see everybody else with their babies. They'd be putting strollers and car seats up above, and we'd think: Oh, please Lord, don't make us go through that. »
    Paul Reiser
  • « It's something we, guys, have all done. Made tapes for girls, trying to impress them, to meet them on a shared plane of aesthetics. Read them someone else's poetry because they do poetry better than you could do it, because you're too awkward to do it. »
    John Cusack
  • « Flying back from New York, the flight attendant said 'God, I wished you were here yesterday, we had a stroke on the plane. I said, if I have a stroke on a plane, I hope the pretend doctor isn't the one on the plane. I want a real doctor. »
    Anthony Edwards
  • « Religions do a useful thing: they narrow God to the limits of man. Philosophy replies by doing a necessary thing: it elevates man to the plane of God. »
    Victor Hugo

Browse dictionary