plot

[ plot ]

noun

1. a secret plan or scheme to accomplish some purpose, especially a hostile, unlawful, or evil purpose:

   a plot to overthrow the government.

   Synonyms: cabal, intrigue

2. Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.
3. a small piece or area of ground:

   a garden plot;

   burial plot.

4. a measured piece or parcel of land:

   a house on a two-acre plot.

5. a plan, map, diagram, or other graphic representation, as of land, a building, etc.
6. a list, timetable, or scheme dealing with any of the various arrangements for the production of a play, motion picture, etc.:

   According to the property plot, there should be a lamp stage left.

7. a chart showing the course of a craft, as a ship or airplane.
8. Artillery. a point or points located on a map or chart:

   target plot.

verb (used with object)

, plot·ted, plot·ting.

1. to plan secretly, especially something hostile or evil:

   to plot mutiny.

   Synonyms: frame, hatch, brew

2. to mark on a plan, map, or chart, as the course of a ship or aircraft.
3. to draw a plan or map of, as a tract of land or a building.
4. to divide (land) into plots.
5. to determine and mark (points), as on plotting paper, by means of measurements or coordinates.
6. to draw (a curve) by means of points so marked.
7. to represent by means of such a curve.
8. to devise or construct the plot of (a play, novel, etc.).
9. to prepare a list, timetable, or scheme of (production arrangements), as for a play or motion picture:

   The stage manager hadn't plotted the set changes until one day before the dress rehearsal.

10. to make (a calculation) by graph.

verb (used without object)

, plot·ted, plot·ting.

1. to plan or scheme secretly; form a plot; conspire.
2. to devise or develop a literary or dramatic plot.
3. to be marked or located by means of measurements or coordinates, as on plotting paper.

plot

¹

/ plɒt /

noun

1. a small piece of land

   a vegetable plot

verb

1. tr to arrange or divide (land) into plots

plot

²

/ plɒt /

noun

1. a secret plan to achieve some purpose, esp one that is illegal or underhand

   a plot to overthrow the government

2. the story or plan of a play, novel, etc
3. military a graphic representation of an individual or tactical setting that pinpoints an artillery target
4. a diagram or plan, esp a surveyor's map
5. lose the plot informal.
   to lose one's ability or judgment in a given situation

verb

1. to plan secretly (something illegal, revolutionary, etc); conspire
2. tr to mark (a course, as of a ship or aircraft) on a map
3. tr to make a plan or map of
4. 1. to locate and mark (one or more points) on a graph by means of coordinates
   2. to draw (a curve) through these points
5. tr to construct the plot of (a literary work)

plot

1. The organization of events in a work of fiction .

Other Words From

• plot·ful adjective
• plot·less adjective
• plot·less·ness noun
• out·plot verb (used with object) outplotted outplotting
• o·ver·plot verb overplotted overplotting
• pre·plot verb (used with object) preplotted preplotting
• re·plot verb (used with object) replotted replotting
• un·plot·ted adjective
• un·plot·ting adjective
• well-plot·ted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plot¹

First recorded before 1100; the noun has multiple origins: in the sense “piece of ground,” Middle English: “small area, patch, stain, piece of ground,” Old English: “piece of ground” (origin obscure); in the senses “ground plan, outline, map, scheme,” variant (since the 16th century) of plat ¹, itself partly a variant of Middle English, Old English plot; in the sense “secret plan” (from the 16th century), by association with complot; the verb is derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of plot¹

Old English: piece of land, plan of an area

Origin of plot²

C16: from plot ², influenced in use by complot

Synonym Study

See conspiracy. Plot, conspire, scheme imply secret, cunning, and often unscrupulous planning to gain one's own ends. To plot is to contrive a secret plan of a selfish and often treasonable kind: to plot against someone's life. To conspire is to unite with others in an illicit or illegal machination: to conspire to seize a government. To scheme is to plan ingeniously, subtly, and often craftily for one's own advantage: to scheme how to gain power.

Example Sentences

One afternoon shortly after the vote, members of the splinter group gathered outside of San Francisco, hiking through the chaparrals of the San Bruno hills, and plotted what to do next.

From Salon

The best part is when Evans, as Jack, attempts to explain the whole mess to his son and ends up describing the inexplicable and ridiculous plot in a hilariously flat and literal manner.

From Los Angeles Times

Their plots are essentially straightforward — somebody wants to kill somebody, somebody else wants to stop them — but stuffed with complications and characters that can at times muddy specific goals and motivations.

From Los Angeles Times

She was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

From BBC

A peaceful protester, Maria Kolesnikova was sentenced to 11 years for extremism and supposedly plotting to overthrow the government.

From BBC

Related Words

• action
• design
• movement
• narrative
• scenario
• scene
• scheme
• story
• structure
• theme