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

That creates an opportunity for companies offering open models to potentially become indispensable to businesses by offering technological blueprints for their products. — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026

Standouts include fragments of original mosaics, old blueprints, and digital reconstructions to show how the building has changed over the centuries. — Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Aug. 2026

Aalto Works, Finland Finland's newest World Heritage site doubles as the blueprint for an architecture road trip. — Bailey Berg, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026

In 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt asked Bush to develop a blueprint for how science could contribute to national health, economic prosperity and job creation after the war. — H. Christopher Frey, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 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