plants)
|plant|
🇺🇸
/plænt/
🇬🇧
/plɑːnt/
(plant)
living organism
Etymology
'plant' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'planta', where 'planta' meant 'a sprout or cutting (something planted)'.
'planta' passed into Old French as 'plante' and Old English adopted it as 'plante' / 'plant', which eventually became the modern English word 'plant'.
Initially, it meant 'a young shoot or cutting', but over time it broadened to mean 'a living organism that grows in the ground' and also developed a verbal sense 'to put into the ground' and figurative senses such as 'to place secretly'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a living organism such as a tree, flower, or grass that typically grows in soil and gets nutrients through roots.
House plants help purify the air.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a large industrial site or factory where goods are manufactured or processed (e.g., power plant, manufacturing plant).
The new manufacturing plants employ 500 people.
Synonyms
Noun 3
a person secretly placed in a group to influence events or gather information (a planted agent).
They discovered a plant among the protesters.
Synonyms
Verb 1
to put a seed, bulb, or young plant into soil so that it can grow.
She plants tomatoes every spring.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Verb 2
to place something secretly or deceitfully (for example, to plant evidence).
Someone planted drugs in his car.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Idioms
Last updated: 2025/09/28 14:38