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

• 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

While framed as a technological roadmap, the manifesto doubles as an unintentional and necessary blueprint for how modern organizations must evolve. —Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025

The lower floor will be built using Icon's own 3D printer, which will follow a blueprint and extrude a proprietary cement-like mixture out of a nozzle in layers, building up the basic shell. —New Atlas, 11 Aug. 2025

The Heritage Foundation was the primary architect behind Project 2025, a comprehensive conservative blueprint for Republican presidential administrations. —Adeola Adeosun hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025

With this blueprint in hand, Domokos got in touch with a precision engineering company in Hungary to help build the tetrahedron. —Elise Cutts, Wired News, 10 Aug. 2025

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