/ pleɪn; NAmE / noun , adjective , verb
■ noun
1.
( BrE also aero·plane ) ( NAmE also air·plane ) a flying vehicle with wings and one or more engines :
She left by plane for Berlin.
a plane crash
I caught the next plane to Dublin.
The plane took off an hour late.
The plane landed at Geneva.
2.
( geometry ) any flat or level surface, or an imaginary flat surface through or joining material objects :
the horizontal / vertical plane
3.
a level of thought, existence or development :
to reach a higher plane of achievement
4.
a tool with a blade set in a flat surface, used for making the surface of wood smooth by shaving very thin layers off it
■ adjective
[ only before noun ] ( technical ) completely flat; level :
a plane surface
■ verb
1.
to make a piece of wood smoother or flatter with a plane noun (4) :
[ vn ]
Plane the surface down first.
[ vn - adj ]
Then plane the wood smooth.
2.
[ v ] ( of a bird ) to fly without moving the wings, especially high up in the air
3.
[ v ] ( of a boat, etc. ) to move quickly across water, only just touching the surface
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 2 to 3 and adjective verb senses 2 to 3 early 17th cent.: from Latin planum flat surface, neuter of the adjective planus plain. The adjective was suggested by French plan(e) flat. The word was introduced to differentiate the geometrical senses, previously expressed by plain , from its other meanings.
noun sense 1 early 20th cent.: shortened form.
noun sense 4 and verb sense 1 Middle English : from a variant of obsolete French plaine planing instrument, from late Latin plana (in the same sense), from Latin planare make level, from planus plain, level.