Meaning & use
project
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Meanings
nouncountable
A planned piece of work with several steps, carried out over time to reach a chosen goal.
Grammar: Takes an article and a plural: a research project, several projects.
Patterns
- work on a project
- a project to do something
- a project aimed at something
Our class project is to build a small weather station.
She managed the project from the first plan to the final report.
The city started a project to plant trees along every street.
nounusually pluralinformalAmerican
In informal American use, publicly owned apartment buildings rented to people with low incomes; usually said as 'the projects.'
Grammar: Almost always plural and informal; singular 'a project' in this sense is rare.
Patterns
- live in the projects
- grow up in the projects
He grew up in the projects and later bought a house nearby.
The bus runs past the projects every morning.
verbtransitivebusiness
To estimate a future amount, result, or trend by studying information available now.
Grammar: Takes an object: project next year's sales; common in business and news reports.
Patterns
- project growth
- project costs
- project that something will happen
Analysts project a small rise in prices this spring.
The team projected that demand would double within five years.
We projected costs too low and had to find extra money.
Word forms
| plural | projects |
|---|---|
| third person singular | projects |
| past tense | projected |
| past participle | projected |
| -ing form | projecting |
Common combinations
- carry out a project
- Volunteers carried out a project to clean the riverbank.
- a major project
- Building the new bridge is a major project for the region.
- project costs
- Before we begin, we need to project costs for the whole year.
- a project aimed at something
- The charity runs a project aimed at helping young readers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scheme
- Often suggests an official or organized plan, and can sound neutral or slightly negative; project is the everyday word.
- undertaking
- Emphasizes effort and commitment over a long period, and is more formal than project.
- enterprise
- Suggests a bold or business-like effort, often larger than an ordinary project.
Word family
- projected adjective
- Estimated for the future, as in projected costs.
- projection noun
- An estimate of future figures, or something that sticks out.
Commonly confused: project or object?
project vs object
Similar sound and spelling pattern but opposite roles: you can object to a plan, while you complete a project.
Practice
The charity began ___ to provide free meals to older people.
Choose one answer.
A planned piece of work aimed at a goal is a project, so 'a project to provide free meals' fits. Projection means an estimate, and objection/rejection express disagreement, so they do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “project”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.