blueprint

noun

blue·​print ˈblü-ˌprint 

plural blueprints

1

: a photographic print in white on a bright blue ground or blue on a white ground used especially for copying maps, mechanical drawings, and architects' plans

2

: something or someone resembling a blueprint (as in serving as a model or providing guidance)

… few foundations have taken a similar [investing] route, so there was no blueprint to follow.

—Paul Sullivan

He was an anomaly to the rap world when he arrived, but today he is the blueprint for a generation.

—Jeff Ihaza

especially : a detailed plan or program of action

a blueprint for success

blueprint transitive verb

blueprinted; blueprinting; blueprints

It was not something blueprinted from the start or based on a French bistro archetype; it's a restaurant that has grown and evolved …

—Ian McNulty

Synonyms

• arrangement
• design
• game
• game plan
• ground plan
• master plan
• plan
• program
• project
• road map
• scheme
• strategy
• system

Examples of blueprint in a Sentence

a blueprint for reforming the public school system

an ambitious young man with a remarkably detailed blueprint for becoming a millionaire by the age of 25

Recent Examples on the Web

The massacre became a blueprint for dozens of copycats, led to major changes in school safety, and sparked an enduring legacy of activism as survivors push for better gun control and offer their support to the next generation of Americans affected by gun violence. —USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024

My blueprint was modeled after being a student of NAN and a student of Reverend Sharpton. —Paul Grein, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024

Marilyn Lands’s victory in a special election provided an early blueprint for Democrats who are eager to make reproductive rights central to their campaigns. —Maya King Micah Green, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024

Horace’s lucrative silver mine in Leadville — called the Matchless Mine — was the blueprint for each Baby Doe’s restaurant. —Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024

The foundation has long funded climate denialism and authored a blueprint for rolling back environmental regulation if former President Donald Trump wins a second term. —Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 3 Apr. 2024

This dream of hope that started more than 20 years ago in his home in Kibera has now reached more than 3 million Kenyans and is rapidly becoming a blueprint that will one day, hopefully, reach the world—a movement for change led by the people themselves. —TIME, 17 Apr. 2024

Such projects would also be harder for Russia to target than older power plants, which were designed in the Soviet era, meaning Moscow probably still has blueprints of the facilities. —Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024

In an industry grappling with the constraints of outdated Media Asset Management (MAM) systems, this partnership will offer media organizations a blueprint for managing their assets and work orders in a way that significantly boosts efficiency and reduces operational costs. —Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

blueprint

1 of 2 noun

blue·​print

ˈblü-ˌprint

1

: a photographic print made with white lines on a blue background and used especially for copying mechanical drawings, maps, and architects' plans

2

: a detailed plan or program of action

blueprint

2 of 2 verb

: to make a blueprint of or for