plots 1 of 2

Definition of plotsnext
plural of plot
1
2
3
as in properties
a small piece of land that is developed or available for development subdivided the old farm into plots for tract houses

Synonyms & Similar Words

4
as in stories
the unfolding of events in a dramatic or literary work wrote novels in which the plot was always subordinate to the characterizations

Synonyms & Similar Words

plots

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of plot

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of plots
Noun
The two plots of land up for rezoning are near Anglin Circle and Enon Avenue. Emily Holshouser, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Jan. 2026 Many gardeners grow herbs in their garden plots, raised beds, or in containers. Peg Aloi, The Spruce, 6 Jan. 2026 The cemetery was at the center of a major scandal in when it was uncovered in 2009 that cemetery workers had been illegally digging up and moving bodies to resell the plots. Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026 Their work was defined by stressfully cascading plots, breathless energy and ingenious street-level filmmaking, both in the casting (led by Safdie’s longtime colleague Jennifer Venditti) and actual shooting locations. David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 5 Jan. 2026 While all colonial enslavers were anxious about the possibility of poisoning plots in general, other, more local, even personal, concerns existed, such as an enslaver’s fear that one of his captives might try to hasten his death by putting something toxic in his food. Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026 After the Bay of Pigs, the CIA tried to hatch more plots to overthrow Castro that included poisoning his cigar, among other implausible ideas. CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026 Sacramento County has opened reservations for plots at a new community garden at Gibson Ranch Regional Park. Sacbee.com, 1 Jan. 2026 Streets and plots are oriented around existing trees, and homes adopt simple architectural designs to capture daylight and ventilation. New Atlas, 1 Jan. 2026
Verb
Thus begins a thorny relationship in which Jules plots vengeance, though their dynamic soon takes a fascinating turn. Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Dec. 2025 Bad Santa follows an alcoholic scammer named Willie (Thornton) who poses as a mall Santa and plots to rob the stores on Christmas Eve with his sidekick, Marcus (Tony Cox). Lydia Price, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025 These include Blood on Snow, in which a hit-man falls in love with his client’s wife—who also happens to be his latest target—and Just Play Dead, a tense thriller about a criminal trying to fake his own death for insurance money while his wife plots to kill him for real. Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025 Moreover, disgusted and enraged at his inability to bring Isabelle to heel, Gercourt plots her ruin. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Nov. 2025 Douglass’s former North Star co-editor, Martin Delany, who had been admitted to Harvard Medical School but was forced out after white students complained, responded to Dred Scott — and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 — by writing a novel whose hero escapes bondage and plots an overthrow of slavery. Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025 Jacob plots to seduce his employers and gain an advantage from their industry connections, but unwittingly walks into a trap. Jake Kanter, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025 The role of the international community as Tanzania plots a new future will also be worth watching. Martin K.n Siele, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025 The chart below, from Renaissance Macro Research, plots the forward-three-month S & P 500 return for each date, based on decades of market history. Michael Santoli, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plots
Noun
  • The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.
    Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
  • More than 90 people, most with ties to the state’s Somali community, have been charged in fraud schemes targeting social services.
    Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • The fact that both these sports use rounded playing fields that are similar in size to an athletics track makes the transition easier, Coulson said.
    Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Members will also have access to a spa, hiking, biking, fishing, clubhouse, fitness center, kids adventure center, family water park, outdoor sports fields and other amenities.
    Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Instead of pursuing chances to pitch reboots of Hollywood’s most beloved properties, scraping the bottom of the barrel might afford you more opportunities to make films that truly feel your own.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Turmeric gets its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties from a natural compound, or polyphenol, called curcumin.
    Gillian Mohney, Verywell Health, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
    Data Skrive, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Below, Dyens and Miailhe speak to Deadline about the importance of unearthing human stories amid the tragedy of the World War II era.
    Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • But other influencers are using the war as an opportunity to peddle antisemitic conspiracies.
    Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Theories about this abound—all have their evidentiary shortcomings—but Greenblatt agrees with a common one that sees Marlowe traveling to France and uncovering Catholic conspiracies against the Crown.
    Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The new exhibition displays tracts and calendars from across cultures and ages.
    Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
  • Vast tracts of land upon West Antarctic islands would then open up to growth of mossy ground cover and coastal vegetation that would turn Antarctica more green than its current icy white.
    Keiji Horikawa, The Conversation, 22 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • In some cases, actions of the British armed forces have been described as unjustified.
    Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Majumdar lavishes her characters with careful attention, and so the reader comes to regard their most troubling actions as justified, if not inevitable.
    Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • DeFoor was set to appear in federal court later Tuesday on federal charges of damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against any person or property in a restricted building or grounds, and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.
    Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 6 Jan. 2026
  • DeFoor also faces federal charges of damaging government property, engaging in physical violence against any person or property in a restricted building or grounds, and assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.
    Quinlan Bentley, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Plots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plots. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.

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