project

noun

proj·ect | \ ˈprä-ˌjekt,

-jikt also ˈprō-\

Definition of project

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a specific plan or design : scheme

2 obsolete : idea

3 : a planned undertaking: such as

a : a definitely formulated piece of research

b : a large usually government-supported undertaking

c : a task or problem engaged in usually by a group of students to supplement and apply classroom studies

4 : a usually public housing development consisting of houses or apartments built and arranged according to a single plan

project

verb

pro·ject | \ prə-ˈjekt

projected; projecting; projects

Definition of project (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to devise in the mind : design

b : to plan, figure, or estimate for the future

2 : to throw or cast forward : thrust

3 : to put or set forth : present for consideration

4 : to cause to jut out

5 : to cause (light or shadow) to fall into space or (an image) to fall on a surface

6 : to reproduce (something, such as a point, line, or area) on a surface by motion in a prescribed direction

7 : to display outwardly especially to an audience

8 : to attribute (one's own ideas, feelings, or characteristics) to other people or to objects a nation is an entity on which one can project many of the worst of one's instincts — The Times Literary Supplement (London)

intransitive verb

1 : to jut out : protrude

2a : to come across vividly : give an impression

b : to make oneself heard clearly

Other Words from project Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about project

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Choose the Right Synonym for project

Noun

plan, design, plot, scheme, project mean a method devised for making or doing something or achieving an end. plan always implies mental formulation and sometimes graphic representation. plans for a house design often suggests a particular pattern and some degree of achieved order or harmony. a design for a new dress plot implies a laying out in clearly distinguished sections with attention to their relations and proportions. the plot of the play scheme stresses calculation of the end in view and may apply to a plan motivated by craftiness and self-interest. a scheme to defraud the government project often stresses imaginative scope and vision. a project to develop the waterfront

Examples of project in a Sentence

Noun

an ambitious project to develop the city's waterfront

Verb

He projected next year's costs as being slightly higher than this year's. It's difficult to project funding needs so far into the future. an athlete who projects a positive image to young people We need an actor who projects a tough-guy image.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Firstly, the role once belonged to Amy Schumer, who has spent much of her career at the forefront of the body positivity movement, before a scheduling conflict forced the actress to drop out of the project. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "Will Margot Robbie's Starring Role as Barbie Reinforce Old Stereotypes—or Defy Them?," 9 Jan. 2019 Pulling out of the project leaves TerraPower's future uncertain. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Bill Gates's Experimental Nuclear Power Plant Halts Construction in China," 2 Jan. 2019 For Benjamin, part of the project of fascism is to render politics aesthetic (communism, conversely, renders art political), and the result of the fascist trajectory is that war begins to hold enormous aesthetic value. — Constance Grady, Vox, "What it means that we keep talking about America like it’s a TV show," 27 Dec. 2018 General Contractor The person responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the remodeling project. — Brett Martin, House Beautiful, "See The Definitions Of Common Renovation Terms," 26 Dec. 2018 There was no way Raymond was the lead of the project. — Marie Claire, "She's Got Game," 5 Dec. 2018 Then, two years into her lab studies, the principal investigator on her project left. — Shelley Levitt, Woman's Day, "These 4 Inspirational Women Went to Great Lengths for Their Kids," 4 Dec. 2018 Unlike the Marie Kondo method, which is a total home/life makeover project if done to the letter, proponents of lagom suggest taking things slowly, like tackling just one cupboard at a time. — Rachel Jacoby Zoldan, SELF, "The 8 Best Lessons I Learned Living the Lagom Life," 31 Oct. 2018 The Future Is Now Although KickSat-2 is meant to be a technology demonstration project, Manchester is eager to start doing actual science, too. — Steve Nadis, Discover Magazine, "The Tiny Satellites That Might Fly to Another Solar System," 18 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Sometimes the girls code computer graphics that complement the dance and are projected onto the stage; other times, the students wear costumes with programmable lights that flash or change color depending on the wearer's movements. — Shay Maunz, Glamour, "STEM From Dance Is Using Dance to Turn Teen Girls Into Coders," 7 Dec. 2018 Her vision extends into the entire lobby: Silver leaves and Murano glass baubles are strewn throughout, and on the ceiling the zodiac sign constellations are projected. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "See Diane von Furstenberg’s Seriously Chic London Christmas Tree," 27 Nov. 2018 That’s bad news for a revenue source that is projected by some to bring in $5 billion in a couple years. — Rani Molla, Recode, "Amazon wants brands to advertise Alexa voice shopping — essentially for free," 26 Nov. 2018 The graphics, which are projected onto a 160-degree 4m by 1.5m screen, are courtesy of VI-grade and SIM.CO.VR, and the tracks are all based on the same lidar scans that go into titles like iRacing or Forza Motorsport. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "This isn’t a game: We try out a professional driver-in-the-loop simulator," 9 Aug. 2018 The scientists in the report projected that air quality will suffer as well. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "3 big takeaways from the major new US climate report," 24 Nov. 2018 Other exit polls projected that Lopez Obrador's left-wing Morena party would win governorships in the states of Chiapas, Morelos, Tabasco and Veracruz, as well as the race for head of government in Mexico City. — Samuel Chamberlain, Fox News, "Left-wing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador set to win Mexico presidential election as rivals concede," 2 Oct. 2018 Here are some of those: Snap’s business is growing much slower than expected Eighteen months ago, analysts projected, on average, that Snap would generate around $540 million in revenue this quarter. — Kurt Wagner, Recode, "Four reasons Snap’s stock price is at an all-time low," 16 Sep. 2018 The Hubble Space Telescope, initially projected to cost $200 million, wound up costing $1.2 billion. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Why NASA is struggling to get its most powerful space telescope off the ground," 1 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'project.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for project

Noun

Middle English projecte, from Medieval Latin projectum, from Latin, neuter of projectus, past participle of proicere to throw forward, from pro- + jacere to throw — more at jet

Verb

Anglo-French projecter, from Latin projectus, past participle

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Dictionary Entries near project

Statistics for project

Last Updated

11 Jan 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for project

The first known use of project was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for project

project

noun

English Language Learners Definition of project

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a planned piece of work that has a specific purpose (such as to find information or to make something new) and that usually requires a lot of time

: a task or problem in school that requires careful work over a long period of time

project

verb

English Language Learners Definition of project (Entry 2 of 2)

: to plan, calculate, or estimate (something) for a time in the future

: to cause (light, a picture, a movie, etc.) to appear on a surface

: to have or show (a particular quality, image, etc., that can be seen by other people)

See the full definition for project in the English Language Learners Dictionary

project

noun

proj·ect | \ ˈprä-ˌjekt,

-jikt\

Kids Definition of project

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a plan or scheme to do something home improvement projects

2 : a task or problem in school that requires work over a period of time and is often displayed or presented a science project

3 : a group of houses or apartment buildings built according to a single plan

project

verb

pro·ject | \ prə-ˈjekt

projected; projecting

Kids Definition of project (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to stick out The rock projected above the ground.

2 : to cause to fall on a surface The machine projects motion pictures on a screen.

3 : to send or throw forward

project

transitive verb

pro·ject | \ prə-ˈjekt

Medical Definition of project

: to attribute or assign (something in one's own mind or a personal characteristic) to a person, group, or object the patient projected hostility onto the therapist

intransitive verb

: to connect by sending nerve fibers or processes cells of the lateral geniculate body project to the back part of the cerebral cortex