I. plot 1 W3 /plɒt $ plɑːt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: 'piece of land' ]
1 . PLAN a secret plan by a group of people to do something harmful or illegal
plot to do something
a plot to bomb the UN headquarters
plot against
a plot against the king
The court heard how she and her lover hatched a plot (=planned a plot) to kill her husband.
The plot to overthrow the military government was foiled (=prevented from being successful) .
an assassination plot
2 . STORY/FILM the events that form the main story of a book, film, or play:
The plot was a little confusing.
We discover that Jack isn’t as innocent as he seems, as the plot unfolds (=gradually becomes clearer) .
3 . the plot thickens used to say that events seem to be becoming more complicated – often used humorously
4 . PIECE OF LAND
a) a small piece of land for building or growing things on:
a two-acre plot of land
a vegetable plot
b) a piece of land that a particular family owns in a ↑ cemetery , in which members of the family are buried when they die:
a burial plot
5 . DRAWING American English a drawing that shows the plan of a building at ground level SYN ground plan
⇨ lose the plot at ↑ lose (14)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ be involved in a plot
He was involved in a plot to kidnap the Pope.
▪ mastermind a plot (=organize it)
He is accused of masterminding a plot to bring down the government.
▪ uncover/discover a plot
They didn’t suspect that their plot had been uncovered.
▪ foil a plot (=prevent it from being successful)
The plot was foiled when he was stopped by US Customs agents.
▪ hatch a plot (=make one)
They have admitted hatching a plot to kill the president.
■ NOUN + plot
▪ a murder plot
He was questionned about about an attempted murder plot.
▪ an assassination plot
The assassination plot to kill General de Gaulle was unsuccessful.
▪ a terrorist plot
Police foiled a terrorist plot to attack a nuclear reactor.
■ phrases
▪ the victim of a plot
He was the victim of a plot by his political opponents.
▪ be part of a plot
These accusations are part of a plot to discredit him.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ plan a set of actions for achieving something in the future, especially a set of actions that has been considered carefully and in detail:
Leaders outlined a plan to end the fighting.
▪ plot/conspiracy a secret plan to do something bad or illegal, made by a group of people:
There was a plot to assassinate the President.
|
a terrorist conspiracy
▪ scheme British English an official plan that is intended to help people:
The government has introduced a new scheme to help young people find work.
▪ strategy a carefully designed plan which is intended to achieve a particular purpose over a long period of time:
the company’s business strategy
|
The government’s economic strategy has been criticized by many experts.
|
We need to develop effective strategies for combating the sale of counterfeit goods.
▪ initiative a new plan for dealing with a particular problem or for achieving a particular aim:
a peace initiative
|
a major new initiative to tackle street crime
▪ policy a plan that members of a government, political party, company etc agree on, that states how they intend to deal with a particular subject or problem:
the government’s immigration policy
|
It’s company policy to allow people to work from home.
▪ programme British English , program American English a series of activities that a government or organization organizes, which aims to achieve something important and will continue for a long time:
a five-year programme which will create 2000 new jobs
|
federal programs for low-income housing
II. plot 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle plotted , present participle plotting )
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to make a secret plan to harm a person or organization, especially a political leader or government
plot to do something
They had plotted to blow up the White House.
plot against
He suspected that the military were secretly plotting against him.
The minister was found guilty of plotting the downfall of the government.
the story of a woman who plots revenge
2 . [transitive] ( also plot out ) to draw marks or a line to represent facts, numbers etc:
We plotted a graph to show the increase in sales figures this year.
plot something on something
You can plot all these numbers on one diagram for comparison.
3 . [transitive] ( also plot out ) to mark, calculate, or follow the path of an aircraft or ship, for example on a map:
We plotted a course across the Pacific.