• Plot

    Pronunciation

    • RP IPA: /plÉ’t/
    • GenAm IPA: /plÉ‘t/
    • Rhymes: -É’t

    Origin

    From Middle English plot, plotte, from Old English plot ("a plot of ground"), from Proto-Germanic *plataz, *platjaz ("a patch"), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Middle Low German plet ("patch, strip of cloth, rags"), German Bletz ("rags, bits, strip of land"), Gothic (plats, "a patch, rags"). See also plat. See also complot for an influence on or source of the "secret plan" sense.

    Full definition of plot

    Noun

    plot

    (plural plots)
    1. The course of a story, comprising a series of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means.
      • Alexander PopeIf the plot or intrigue must be natural, and such as springs from the subject, then the winding up of the plot must be a probable consequence of all that went before.
    2. An area or land used for building on or planting on.
    3. A graph or diagram drawn by hand or produced by a mechanical or electronic device.
    4. A secret plan to achieve an end, the end or means usually being illegal or otherwise questionable.The plot would have enabled them to get a majority on the board.The assassination of Lincoln was part of a larger plot.
      • ShakespeareI have overheard a plot of death.
      • AddisonO, think what anxious moments pass between
        The birth of plots and their last fatal periods!
    5. Contrivance; deep reach thought; ability to plot or intrigue.
      • Denhama man of much plot
    6. Participation in any stratagem or conspiracy.
      • MiltonAnd when Christ saith, Who marries the divorced commits adultery, it is to be understood, if he had any plot in the divorce.
    7. A plan; a purpose.
      • Jeremy Taylorno other plot in their religion but serve God and save their souls

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Verb

    1. (transitive) To conceive (a crime, etc).They had plotted'' a robbery.
    2. (transitive) To trace out (a graph or diagram).They plotted the number of edits per day.
    3. (transitive) To mark (a point on a graph, chart, etc).Every five minutes they plotted their position.
      • CarewThis treatise plotteth down Cornwall as it now standeth.
    4. (intransitive) To conceive a crime, misdeed, etc.''They were plotting against the king.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Anagrams

    © Wiktionary
    • © 2013 - 2023 All Rights Reserved