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 of blueprint

• plan
• strategy
• program
• scheme
• project

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

But there is a blueprint in the formats used by Bellator and Strikeforce, and Chou said Ki’s team had experience getting the regulations approved in California. — Oskar Garcia, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

The Senate has no immediate plans to move on the budget blueprint to provide Iran war funding before the midterm elections. — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026

Sponsored by Hero Esports, the brainchild of Chinese billionaire Dino Ying, the event was the first of its kind outside China and a blueprint for a global sports league envisioned as Monster Trucks for the Terminator era. — Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 14 Sep. 2026

The designers turned a layout that felt like a LEGO expansion set into a cohesive blueprint for urban living. — Ingrid Abramovitch, Architectural Digest, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for blueprint

• footprint
• imprint
• misprint
• newsprint
• nonprint
• preprint
• reprint
• clint
• dint
• glint
• hint
• lint

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