PLANE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does plane mean? 

• PLANE (noun)
  The noun PLANE has 5 senses:

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

2. (mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape

3. a level of existence or development

4. a power tool for smoothing or shaping wood

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

  Familiarity information: PLANE used as a noun is common.

• PLANE (adjective)
  The adjective PLANE has 1 sense:

1. having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another

  Familiarity information: PLANE used as an adjective is very rare.

• PLANE (verb)
  The verb PLANE has 3 senses:

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

2. travel on the surface of water

3. make even or smooth, with or as with a carpenter's plane

  Familiarity information: PLANE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLANE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

aeroplane; airplane; plane

Context example:

the flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane

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

heavier-than-air craft (a non-buoyant aircraft that requires a source of power to hold it aloft and to propel it)

Meronyms (parts of "plane"):

accelerator; accelerator pedal; gas; gas pedal; gun; throttle (a pedal that controls the throttle valve)

windscreen; windshield (transparent screen (as of glass) to protect occupants of a vehicle)

radar dome; radome (a housing for a radar antenna; transparent to radio waves)

wing (one of the horizontal airfoils on either side of the fuselage of an airplane)

fuel pod; pod (a detachable container of fuel on an airplane)

navigation light (light on an airplane that indicates the plane's position and orientation; red light on the left (port) wing tip and green light on the right (starboard) wing tip)

landing gear (an undercarriage that supports the weight of the plane when it is on the ground)

bonnet; cowl; cowling; hood (protective covering consisting of a metal part that covers the engine)

fuselage (the central body of an airplane that is designed to accommodate the crew and passengers (or cargo))

escape hatch (hatchway that provides a means of escape in an emergency)

Domain member category:

hunt (yaw back and forth about a flight path)

circumnavigation (traveling around something (by ship or plane))

astern ((of a ship or an airplane) behind)

prang (crash)

atomic number 22; Ti; titanium (a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite)

leeway ((of a ship or plane) sideways drift)

drift (the gradual departure from an intended course due to external influences (as a ship or plane))

highjacker; hijacker (someone who uses force to take over a vehicle (especially an airplane) in order to reach an alternative destination)

place; seat (a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane))

log (a written record of events on a voyage (of a ship or plane))

roll-on roll-off (a method of transport (as a ferry or train or plane) that vehicles roll onto at the beginning and roll off of at the destination)

dip circle; inclinometer (a measuring instrument for measuring the angle of magnetic dip (as from an airplane))

defroster; deicer (heater that removes ice or frost (as from a windshield or a refrigerator or the wings of an airplane))

passenger; rider (a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it)

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

amphibian; amphibious aircraft (an airplane designed to take off and land on water)

airliner (a commercial airplane that carries passengers)

tanker plane (an airplane constructed to transport chemicals that can be dropped in order to fight a forest fire)

ski-plane (an airplane equipped with skis so it can land on a snowfield)

hydroplane; seaplane (an airplane that can land on or take off from water)

reconnaissance plane (a military airplane used to gain information about an enemy)

propeller plane (an airplane that is driven by a propeller)

multiengine airplane; multiengine plane (a plane with two or more engines)

monoplane (an airplane with a single wing)

jet; jet-propelled plane; jet plane (an airplane powered by one or more jet engines)

hangar queen (an airplane with a bad maintenance record)

attack aircraft; fighter; fighter aircraft (a high-speed military or naval airplane designed to destroy enemy aircraft in the air)

delta wing (an airplane with wings that give it the appearance of an isosceles triangle)

bomber (a military aircraft that drops bombs during flight)

biplane (old fashioned airplane; has two wings one above the other)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

plane; sheet

Context example:

any line joining two points on a plane lies wholly on that plane

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

form; shape (the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance)

Domain category:

math; mathematics; maths (a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement)

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

Cartesian plane (a plane in which all points can be described in Cartesian coordinates)

facet plane (the plane of a facet of an object (as of a cube))

midline; midplane (the median plane of the body (or some part of the body))

orbital plane ((astronomy) the plane on which a body is orbiting)

picture plane (the plane that is in the foreground of a drawing or painting; coextensive with but different from the objective surface of the work)

tangent plane (the plane that contains all the lines tangent to a specific point on a surface)

Derivation:

planar (involving or having two dimensions)

plane (having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A level of existence or development

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

he lived on a worldly plane

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

degree; level; point; stage (a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A power tool for smoothing or shaping wood

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

plane; planer; planing machine

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

power tool (a tool driven by a motor)

Derivation:

plane (cut or remove with or as if with a plane)

plane (make even or smooth, with or as with a carpenter's plane)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A carpenter's hand tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing or shaping wood

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

carpenter's plane; plane; woodworking plane

Context example:

the cabinetmaker used a plane for the finish work

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

hand tool (a tool used with workers' hands)

edge tool (any cutting tool with a sharp cutting edge (as a chisel or knife or plane or gouge))

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

spokeshave (a small plane that has a handle on each side of its blade; used for shaping or smoothing cylindrical wooden surfaces (originally wheel spokes))

smooth plane; smoothing plane (a small plane for finish work)

scrub plane (a narrow woodworking plane used to cut away excess stock)

router plane (a woodworking plane with a narrow cutting head that will make grooves with smooth bottoms)

circular plane; compass plane (a plane with a flexible face that can plane concave or convex surfaces)

openside plane; rabbet plane (a woodworking plane designed to cut rabbets)

match plane; tonguing and grooving plane (a plane having cutters designed to make the tongues and grooves on the edges of matchboards)

jointer; jointer plane; jointing plane; long plane (a long carpenter's plane used to shape the edges of boards so they will fit together)

jack plane (a carpenter's plane for rough finishing)

fore plane (a carpenter's plane intermediate between a jack plane and a jointer plane)

dovetail plane (a woodworking plane designed to make the grooves for dovetail joints)

combination plane (a woodworking plane that has interchangeable cutters of various shapes)

chamfer plane (a plane that makes a beveled edge)

bullnose; bullnosed plane (a small carpenter's plane with the cutting edge near the front)

block plane (a small plane used on end grains of wood)

beading plane (a plane with a concave blade for making moulding with beadwork)

Derivation:

plane (cut or remove with or as if with a plane)

plane (make even or smooth, with or as with a carpenter's plane)

• PLANE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another

Synonyms:

flat; level; plane

Context example:

skirts sewn with fine flat seams

Similar:

even (being level or straight or regular and without variation as e.g. in shape or texture; or being in the same plane or at the same height as something else (i.e. even with))

Derivation:

plane ((mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape)

planeness (the property of having two dimensions)

• PLANE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they plane    ... he / she / it planes   
Past simple: planed   
Past participle: planed   
-ing form: planing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cut or remove with or as if with a plane

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

plane; shave

Context example:

The machine shaved off fine layers from the piece of wood

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

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

plane (a carpenter's hand tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing or shaping wood)

plane; planer (a power tool for smoothing or shaping wood)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Travel on the surface of water

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

plane; skim

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

glide (move smoothly and effortlessly)

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

aquaplane (ride on an aquaplane)

aquaplane (rise up onto a thin film of water between the tires and road so that there is no more contact with the road)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make even or smooth, with or as with a carpenter's plane

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

plane the top of the door

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

smooth; smoothen (make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

planation (the process of erosion whereby a level surface is produced)

plane (a carpenter's hand tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing or shaping wood)

plane; planer (a power tool for smoothing or shaping wood)

 Context examples 

The inclination of one line to another or the plane of one object to another.

(Angle, NCI Thesaurus)

A traditional unit of plane angle measurement equal to two pi radians or 360 degrees.

(Circle Unit of Plane Angle, NCI Thesaurus)

The technique is particularly good at rejecting light from outside the plane of focus and so produces higher effective resolution than is normally achieved.

(Confocal Microscopy, NCI Thesaurus)

Pertaining to a plane containing a line parallel to the long axis of the subject's body and in addition presenting anterior and posterior views on each side of it.

(Coronal Plane, NCI Thesaurus)

The plane would then return to Earth, landing like a plane.

(Hypersonic Space Plane May Soon Be a Reality, VOA)

Darker regions correspond to stronger polarized emission, and the striations indicate the direction of the magnetic field projected on the plane of the sky.

(Planck Takes Magnetic Fingerprint of Our Galaxy, JPL/NASA)

Computer simulations of the solar system with Planet Nine included show there should be more objects tilted with respect to the solar plane.

(The Super-Earth that Came Home for Dinner, NASA)

The best models for the region suggested that if there were ring particles in the area where Cassini crossed the ring plane, they would be tiny, on the scale of smoke particles.

(Cassini Spacecraft Dives Between Saturn and Its Rings, NASA)

A unit of plane angle measurement equal to 1/400 circle, 0.01 right angle, 0.9 degree, or 0,01570796 rad.

(Gon, NCI Thesaurus)

Any polyhedron having six plane faces.

(Hexahedron, NCI Thesaurus)