PLOT (plotted, plotting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: plotted    , plotting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does plot mean? 

• PLOT (noun)
  The noun PLOT has 4 senses:

1. a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)

2. a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation

3. the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.

4. a chart or graph showing the movements or progress of an object

  Familiarity information: PLOT used as a noun is uncommon.

• PLOT (verb)
  The verb PLOT has 4 senses:

1. plan secretly, usually something illegal

2. make a schematic or technical drawing of that shows interactions among variables or how something is constructed

3. make a plat of

4. devise the sequence of events in (a literary work or a play, movie, or ballet)

  Familiarity information: PLOT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLOT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

game; plot; secret plan

Context example:

I saw through his little game from the start

Hypernyms ("plot" is a kind of...):

scheme; strategy (an elaborate and systematic plan of action)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plot"):

counterplan; counterplot (a plot intended to subvert another plot)

intrigue; machination (a crafty and involved plot to achieve your (usually sinister) ends)

cabal; conspiracy (a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot))

Derivation:

plot (plan secretly, usually something illegal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A small area of ground covered by specific vegetation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

patch; plot; plot of ground; plot of land

Context example:

a briar patch

Hypernyms ("plot" is a kind of...):

parcel; parcel of land; piece of ground; piece of land; tract (an extended area of land)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plot"):

bed (a plot of ground in which plants are growing)

garden (a plot of ground where plants are cultivated)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

the characters were well drawn but the plot was banal

Hypernyms ("plot" is a kind of...):

story (a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plot"):

action (the series of events that form a plot)

plot line; storyline (the plot of a book or play or film)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A chart or graph showing the movements or progress of an object

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("plot" is a kind of...):

chart; graph (a visual display of information)

Derivation:

plot (make a plat of)

• PLOT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they plot    ... he / she / it plots   
Past simple: plotted   
Past participle: plotted   
-ing form: plotting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Plan secretly, usually something illegal

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

They plotted the overthrow of the government

Hypernyms (to "plot" is one way to...):

plan (make plans for something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "plot"):

cabal; complot; conjure; conspire; machinate (engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together)

counterplot (make a plot in response to another plot)

connive; intrigue; scheme (form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They plot to move

Derivation:

plot (a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal))

plotter (a planner who draws up a personal scheme of action)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a schematic or technical drawing of that shows interactions among variables or how something is constructed

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

diagram; plot

Hypernyms (to "plot" is one way to...):

draw (represent by making a drawing of, as with a pencil, chalk, etc. on a surface)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "plot"):

graph (plot upon a graph)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

plotter (an instrument (usually driven by a computer) for drawing graphs or pictures)

plotter (a clerk who marks data on a chart)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make a plat of

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

plat; plot

Context example:

Plat the town

Hypernyms (to "plot" is one way to...):

map (make a map of; show or establish the features of details of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

plot (a chart or graph showing the movements or progress of an object)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Devise the sequence of events in (a literary work or a play, movie, or ballet)

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

the writer is plotting a new novel

Hypernyms (to "plot" is one way to...):

contrive; design; plan; project (make or work out a plan for; devise)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

They plotted the amount of UV light available to planets in orbit around these stars to determine where the chemistry could be activated.

(Scientists identify exoplanets where life could develop as it did on Earth, University of Cambridge)

The CNEOS team plotted the object's current trajectory and even looked into its future.

(Small Asteroid or Comet 'Visits' from Beyond the Solar System, NASA)

Theresa was as cool as ice, and it was her plot as much as mine.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The team studied images of four U.S. forest research plots that are part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Forest Global Earth Observatory.

(NASA Satellite Images Uncover Underground Forest Fungi, NASA)

Serial plasma glucose levels are obtained (e.g. 30min, 1hr, 2hr, 3hr) and a plot of plasma glucose versus time is created.

(Glucose Tolerance Test, NCI Thesaurus)

Holmes walked slowly and thoughtfully among the flower-plots and along the path before we entered the porch.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The plot of Felix was quickly discovered, and De Lacey and Agatha were thrown into prison.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

A spatial plot showing values in an image that result from an ideal very narrow line activity concentration source.

(Line Spread Function, NCI Thesaurus)

I ain't a-going, if I know it, to run the risk of being plotted against.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

If you are attached, you might hear you are pregnant or be thinking about special care or a surprise you are plotting for any children you have.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)