plant
n. · v.-
1 living organism (n.) A1 Beginner Botanya living thing that grows in the earth and has a stem, leaves, and roots.
a multicellular eukaryote, typically photosynthetic, belonging to the kingdom Plantae.
ExampleShe watered the plant on her desk every Monday morning.
ExampleThe botanist identified a rare plant species that only thrives in the acidic soil of this specific valley.
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2 factory or facility (n.) B2 Upper Intermediatea large factory or a place where power is produced.
a building or group of buildings used for industrial processes or power generation.
ExampleThe car plant provides jobs for thousands of people in the city.
ExampleThe chemical plant underwent a rigorous safety inspection following reports of a minor leak in the cooling system.
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3 hidden evidence or person (n.) C1 Advanced Informalsomething or someone hidden secretly to trick people or catch a criminal.
an object or person placed surreptitiously to deceive, incriminate, or gather intelligence.
ExampleThe lawyer argued that the drugs were a plant by the police.
ExampleThe journalist suspected that the man asking aggressive questions was a plant designed to disrupt the press conference.
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4 to put in the ground (v.) A1 Beginner Botanyto put a seed or a young plant into the soil so it can grow.
to place seeds, bulbs, or young organisms in a substrate to facilitate growth.
ExampleWe plan to plant some apple trees in the garden this spring.
ExampleFarmers in the region usually plant their winter wheat before the first heavy frost arrives in November.
- uproot
- harvest
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5 to place firmly (v.) B2 Upper Intermediateto put something down firmly or in a fixed position.
to fix or set something securely or steadily in a specific location.
ExampleHe planted his feet firmly on the ground and refused to move.
ExampleThe security guard planted himself in front of the entrance, blocking anyone without a valid pass from entering the building.
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6 to hide secretly (v.) C1 Advanced Informalto hide something secretly to trick someone or make them look guilty.
to place an object or person surreptitiously for the purpose of deception or entrapment.
ExampleThe spy planted a tiny microphone under the wooden table.
ExampleThe detective suspected that the rival gang had planted the weapon in the suspect's car to divert attention from the real killer.
From Middle English plante, from Old English plante (“young tree or shrub, herb newly planted”), from Proto-West Germanic *plantu, from Latin planta (“sprout, shoot, cutting”). Broader sense of "any vegetable life, vegetation generally" is from Old French plante. Doublet of clan (borrowed through Celtic languages) and planta (directly from Latin). The verb is from Middle English planten, from Old English plantian (“to plant”), from Latin plantāre, later influenced by Old French planter. Compare also Dutch planten (“to plant”), German pflanzen (“to plant”), Swedish plantera (“to plant”), Icelandic planta (“to plant”). The factory and machinery senses comes from the Latin sense of "any vegetable production that serves to propagate the species," which refers to something that produces.