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

Gathering Communist Party elites will review China’s upcoming five-year plan, an economic blueprint whose direction is strictly dictated by top leadership in the authoritarian state. —Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2025

Denim Deal contributor Nicolas Prophte said the collections are a blueprint for how the industry can make circularity visible and wearable. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 20 Oct. 2025

The Seahawks created the blueprint for unsettling Lawrence, and the fifth-year quarterback. —The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025

What’s left of it was led, at least for a while, by a 29-year-old White House appointee who helped craft Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint that broadly calls for the curtailment of civil rights enforcement. —J. David McSwane, ProPublica, 18 Oct. 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