Meaning & use
plant
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Meanings
nouncountablebiology
A living thing that grows in the ground or water, usually has leaves and roots, and makes its food from sunlight.
Grammar: Takes a plural: a plant, three plants.
Patterns
- a house plant
- grow a plant
She waters every plant on the windowsill each Sunday.
This plant needs a lot of sunlight to flower.
Scientists study how a plant takes in water through its roots.
nouncountable
A large factory or building where goods are made or where a service such as power or water treatment is carried out.
Grammar: Used with a type of work: a power plant, a car plant.
Patterns
- a plant that makes something
- work at a plant
The car plant employs about two thousand people.
A new water treatment plant opens next year.
He took a job at the chemical plant outside town.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To put seeds or young plants in the ground so that they will grow.
Grammar: Can take an object (plant tomatoes) or stand alone (we plant in spring).
Patterns
- plant something in something
- plant something with something
We plant tomatoes in May, after the frost is over.
The children helped plant a tree in the school yard.
She planted the garden with roses and lavender.
verbtransitive
To put or fix something firmly in a place or position.
Grammar: Takes an object and a place: plant your feet on the floor.
Patterns
- plant something on something
- plant yourself somewhere
He planted his feet firmly and refused to move.
The climbers planted a flag at the summit.
She planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead.
verbtransitiveinformal
To hide something, such as an object or an idea, in order to give a false impression or cause trouble for someone.
Grammar: Takes an object: plant evidence, plant a doubt.
Patterns
- plant something on someone
- plant something in someone's mind
The police believed someone had planted the drugs in his car.
The comment planted a doubt in her mind.
A spy was planted inside the rival company.
noununcountableBritishtechnical
The heavy machinery and equipment used in industry or building work.
Grammar: Often seen on road signs as plant crossing.
Patterns
- plant hire
- heavy plant
The company hires out plant such as diggers and cranes.
Warning signs showed that heavy plant was working nearby.
Word forms
| plural | plants |
|---|---|
| third person singular | plants |
| past tense | planted |
| past participle | planted |
| -ing form | planting |
Common combinations
- house plant
- A house plant can brighten up a dull room.
- power plant
- The power plant supplies electricity to the whole county.
- plant a seed
- Plant a seed about half an inch deep.
- plant a tree
- They plant a tree every time a baby is born.
- plant evidence
- The lawyer claimed the evidence had been planted.
- plant doubt
- The report planted doubt in the voters' minds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- factory
- Factory is the everyday word for a place making goods, whereas plant often suggests large machinery or processes like power generation.
- sow
- Sow means to scatter or put in seeds only, while plant can also be used for young plants and bulbs.
- bury
- Bury means to cover something with earth to hide it, and does not imply growth like plant.
- place
- Place is a general word for putting something somewhere, while plant suggests a firm, deliberate position.
Opposites
Word family
- planter noun
- a container for plants or a person who grows crops
- planting noun
- the act of putting plants in the ground
- plantation noun
- a large farm growing one crop
- replant verb
- to plant again
- transplant verb
- to move a plant to a new place
Commonly confused: plant or plain?
plant vs plain
Plain means simple or a flat area of land, and it sounds different from plant.
Practice
Workers at the steel ___ finished their shift at midnight.
Choose one answer.
A steel plant is a factory. Plan, plot and planet do not collocate with steel in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.