plain-Jane

1 of 2

adjective

: not fancy or glamorous : ordinary

plain Jane

2 of 2

noun

: one that is plain

Examples of plain-Jane in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
If a plain Jane hamburger is your thing, go for it. Rasputin Todd, The Enquirer, 7 Sep. 2023 When designing the resume format, think plain Jane, noncreative style highlighting your skills and accomplishments. Robin Ryan, Forbes, 9 Nov. 2021 The sweet survey, which the food delivery company shared with Travel Leisure just in time for National Ice Cream Day on July 18, found those four flavors tied for the most popular — aside from plain Jane vanilla, which accounts for more than 26% of all ice cream sales in the United States. Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 13 July 2021 My family lived in this plain Jane development back in the late ’70s. Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2021 This means that even your plain Jane, vanilla cookie lover will enjoy this cookie as much as the anything-goes cookie enthusiast. Elizabeth Karmel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022 The relationship is actually quite a bit more plain Jane than a lot of other relationships in the show. David Viramontes, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2022 Peer through their five spokes, and the standard cast-iron rotors and black calipers look plain Jane to those used to slotted discs and colorful binders, but there's always Porsche's $8970 ceramic composite brake option. Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 6 Apr. 2022 After all, plain Jane is far from how anyone would describe Ban. Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 16 Mar. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plain-Jane.' 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

Adjective

from the name Jane

First Known Use

Adjective

1936, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1912, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of plain-Jane was in 1912

Dictionary Entries Near plain-Jane

Cite this Entry

“Plain-Jane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plain-Jane. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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