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¹plot

noun \ˈplät\

: an area of land that has been measured and is considered as a unit

: a usually small piece of land that is used for a particular purpose

: a series of events that form the story in a novel, movie, etc.

Full Definition of PLOT

a : a small area of planted ground <a vegetable plot>

b : a small piece of land in a cemetery

c : a measured piece of land : lot

: ground plan, plat

: the plan or main story (as of a movie or literary work)

[perhaps back-formation from complot] : a secret plan for accomplishing a usually evil or unlawful end : intrigue

: a graphic representation (as a chart)

— plot·less \-ləs\ adjective

— plot·less·ness noun

See plot defined for English-language learners

See plot defined for kids

Examples of PLOT

Her books are page-turners, and yet there is more going on in them than just the mechanics of a clever plot… —Robin McKinley New York Times Book Review, 17 May 1987
… as he stood before the great dripping department store which now occupied the big plot of ground where once had stood both the Amberson Hotel and the Amberson Opera House. —Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons, 1918
When I returned with the pistol the table had been cleared, and Holmes was engaged in his favourite occupation of scraping upon his violin. “The plot thickens,” he said, as I entered… —Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1887
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Origin of PLOT

Middle English, from Old English

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to PLOT

Synonyms: conspiracy, design, intrigue, machination, scheme

Synonym Discussion of PLOT

plot, intrigue, machination, conspiracy, cabal mean a plan secretly devised to accomplish an evil or treacherous end. plot implies careful foresight in planning a complex scheme <an assassination plot>. intrigue suggests secret underhanded maneuvering in an atmosphere of duplicity <backstairs intrigue>. machination implies a contriving of annoyances, injuries, or evils by indirect means <the machinations of a party boss>. conspiracy implies a secret agreement among several people usually involving treason or great treachery <a conspiracy to fix prices>. cabal typically applies to political intrigue involving persons of some eminence <a cabal among powerful senators>.

synonyms see in addition plan

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

Rhymes with PLOT

aught, baht, blot, bot, clot, cot, dot, ghat, grot, hot, jot, khat, knot, kyat, lot, lotte, Mott, motte, naught, not, pot, rot, scot, Scot, shot, skat, slot, snot, sot, spot, squat, stot, swat, swot, tot, trot, watt, Watt, what, wot, yacht

²plot

verb \ˈplät\

: to plan secretly to do something usually illegal or harmful

: to plan (something)

: to mark (something, such as a location or path) on a map, graph, chart, etc.

plot·tedplot·ting

Full Definition of PLOT

transitive verb

a : to make a plot, map, or plan of

b : to mark or note on or as if on a map or chart

: to lay out in plots(see ¹plot)

a : to locate (a point) by means of coordinates

b : to locate (a curve) by plotted points

c : to represent (an equation) by means of a curve so constructed

: to plan or contrive especially secretly

: to invent or devise the plot of (as a movie or a literary work)

intransitive verb

: to form a plot : scheme

: to be located by means of coordinates <the data plot at a single point>

See plot defined for English-language learners

Examples of PLOT

While men plotted wars or devised philosophies, women were confined within their homes … —Barbara Ehrenreich, Ms., Winter 2007
Would-be nation builders plotted Italy's unification from the south and the north. —David Van Biema, Time, 4 Sept. 2000
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