plant

1 of 2

verb

planted; planting; plants

transitive verb

1
a
: to put or set in the ground for growth
plant seeds
b
: to set or sow with seeds or plants
c
2
c
: to place (animals) in a new locality
d
: to stock with animals
3
a
: to place in or on the ground
b
: to place firmly or forcibly
planted a hard blow on his chin
4
a
b
: to covertly place for discovery, publication, or dissemination

intransitive verb

: to plant something
plantable adjective

plant

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: a young tree, vine, shrub, or herb planted or suitable for planting
b
: any of a kingdom (Plantae) of multicellular eukaryotic mostly photosynthetic organisms typically lacking locomotive movement or obvious nervous or sensory organs and possessing cellulose cell walls
2
a
: the land, buildings, machinery, apparatus, and fixtures employed in carrying on a trade or an industrial business
b
: a factory or workshop for the manufacture of a particular product
also : power plant
c
: the total facilities available for production or service
d
: the buildings and other physical equipment of an institution
3
: an act of planting
4
: something or someone planted
plantlike adjective

Examples of plant in a Sentence

Verb I planted corn this year. I planted the border with roses. a field planted with corn She planted stakes in the garden to hold the vines. I firmly planted my feet and refused to move. He planted himself in front of the TV and stayed there. Terrorists planted a bomb in the bus station. She claims that the police planted the drugs in her car. He was a spy planted in the office by a rival company. Someone planted a rumor saying that he had died. Noun The gangsters never suspected that he was a police plant. a furniture plant that employs hundreds of people
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The Adrianna vineyard takes its moniker from Catena’s younger sister, Adrianna, who was at home with their parents when the vineyard was first planted. Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024 Hayley Smith has the details, which include $4.3 billion to whisk away floodwaters during ever-more-dangerous storms and $1.4 billion to plant trees to help people stay cool as temperatures grow deadlier. Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024 The projects included raking leaves around campus, weeding and planting flowers, laying a walkway and planting a tree in Wiley's honor. Jade Thomas, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2024 Decommission old fountains and plant them with succulents instead. Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2024 Once planted, basil requires full sun and regular watering. Steve Bender, Southern Living, 6 Apr. 2024 While hydrangeas typically flower in the late spring and summer, planting them in early to mid-spring helps them get established before blooming. Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Apr. 2024 Way back before the first roots were planted in this lush pocket of Sonoma wine country, the winemaker had a feeling the finished product would be worth the wait. Regan Stephens, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024 Groups like the European Festival Forest focus their offset efforts in certain regions of the globe, like Iceland, while other organizers plant and restore forests at festival sites for future concertgoers’ benefit. Dave Brooks, Billboard, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
For your green thumb, find tips for saving money on houseplants and how to keep your plants alive longer. Jennifer Barger, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rich Cordray also pledged to keep the plant open, the Sandusky Register reported. Jessie Balmert, The Enquirer, 10 Apr. 2024 For example, flatback sea turtles are omnivores, eating both plants and animals, while loggerheads are carnivores, eating plants rarely. Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024 Boeing has also confronted a slew of problems at its plant in South Carolina where the Dreamliner is built. James Glanz, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024 When asked in late 2023, the company declined to disclose salary ranges for jobs at the plant. Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 9 Apr. 2024 All of these plants grow in full sun, but hardiness varies. Steve Bender, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2024 As an alternative to gas peaker plants, pumped hydropower storage is set to make up for 42 percent of the shortfall in solar energy during the eclipse. Justine Calma, The Verge, 8 Apr. 2024 More:Ford to dramatically cut hourly workforce at F-150 Lightning plant in Dearborn More:Ford is getting rid of 1 vehicle feature to save $10M — but many people won’t notice Free Press staff writers Eric D. Lawrence and Jamie L. LaReau contributed to this report . Detroit Free Press, 29 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English plantian, from Late Latin plantare to plant, fix in place, from Latin, to plant, from planta plant

Noun

Middle English plante, from Old English, from Latin planta

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of plant was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near plant

Cite this Entry

“Plant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plant. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

plant

1 of 2 verb
1
a
: to put or set in the ground to grow
plant seeds
b
: to set permanently in the consciousness of : implant
plant good habits
2
a
: to cause to become established
plant colonies
b
: to stock or provide with something usually to grow or increase
plant fields to corn
plant a stream with trout
3
a
: to place or fix in the ground
planted stakes to hold the vines
b
: to place firmly or forcibly
planted themselves right in our way
4
: to place or introduce so as to mislead
plant a spy

plant

2 of 2 noun
1
: any of a kingdom of mostly photosynthetic living things usually lacking the ability to move from place to place under their own power, having no obvious nervous or sensory organs, possessing cellulose cell walls, and often having a body that is able to keep growing without taking on a fixed size and shape
2
a
: the land, buildings, and equipment of an organization
the college plant
b
: a building or workshop for the manufacture of a product : factory
3
: something or someone planted
left muddy footprints as a plant to confuse the police
plantlike adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on plant

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