I. ˈplant, ˈplaa(ə)nt, ˈplaint, ˈplȧnt verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English planten, from Old English plantian, from Late Latin plantare to plant, fix in place, from Latin, to plant, from planta plant
transitive verb
1.
a. : to put in the ground and cover with soil so as to grow
plant corn
plant seeds
b. : to set in the ground for growth
plant trees
plant bushes
c. : to put plants to grow in : cultivate
cleans up and plants the ground thus regained from the forest — J.G.Frazer
the river overflowed the planted land — American Guide Series: Tennessee
d. : implant
the task of planting in the native-born generations a knowledge of the ancestral language — Oscar Handlin
2.
a.
(1) : to establish or institute in a particular place or region
engaged in planting a colony of Germans in the valley — H.E.Scudder
planted the first church in that part of the colony — L.H.Beck
(2) : to settle as a colonist
planted former soldiers in the border regions
b. : colonize , populate
intending to return and plant Delaware — John Winthrop
c. : to place (animals) in a particular locality so as to grow and multiply there
underseas gardens in which the oysters are planted, cultivated, and harvested — American Guide Series: Connecticut
planting beavers for conservation purposes — Willis Peterson
d. : to stock with animals
planted his ranch with beef cattle
planted the stream with trout
planted the bay with clams
e. : inoculate 2 a (2)
3.
a. : to place in or on the ground
stakes were planted to determine the ice movement in the mountain region — G. de Q. Robin
planted a foot in a prairie-dog hole — F.B.Gipson
b. : to place firmly or forcibly
came boiling out and planted herself in his path with her hands on her hips — Robert Murphy
planted a hard blow on his chin
c. : to set firmly in position : fix in place : establish
planted obstruction buoys around a large coral head — K.M.Dodson
remained planted in the rocker — J.C.Lincoln
4.
a. : conceal , hide
the plunder was planted under the floor of a restaurant — London Daily Chronicle
b. : to conceal (something) temporarily where discovery may deceive or mislead
planted a gun in the butler's coat
planted gold nuggets in a worthless mine
c. : to covertly arrange publication or dissemination of
politicians and officials exploit their intimacy with the press and plant true or false stories with them — Times Literary Supplement
a report, undoubtedly planted by him, that he had gone to South America — Robert Shaplen
d. : to place or cause to be placed in a position under false colors
planted a spy on the committee's staff
frequently the gang is not able to plant a confederate inside the house — Richard Harrison
e. : to prepare beforehand : prearrange
carefully plants the surprise word — Britain Today
asked an obviously planted question
5. : leave behind : abandon
planted his family and left them penniless
6. : bury , inter
these people believe in sealed copper coffins in vaults, and they are decidedly not planted but laid to rest — Mari Sandoz
death lost some of its terrors when one could be planted neatly in a corner of one's own farm — Stuart Cloete
intransitive verb
1. : to perform the act of planting
this is perfect weather for planting
2. : to become a plant : grow
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English plante, from Old English, from Latin planta, probably back-formation from (assumed) Latin plantare to tread the ground in planting, from Latin planta sole of the foot — more at place
1.
a.
(1) : a young tree, vine, shrub, or herb planted or suitable for planting : a vegetable, flower, fruit, or ornamental grown for or ready for transplanting
cabbage plants for sale
thin the hill to four plants
— see houseplant , pot plant , wild flower
(2) obsolete : cutting , slip , set
b. archaic : a sapling used as a cudgel or pole
c. : any of numerous organisms constituting the kingdom Plantae, being typically characterized by lack of locomotive movement or rapid motor response, by absence of obvious nervous or sensory organs though possessing irritability as indicated by specific response to stimuli, by possession of cell walls composed of cellulose, and by a nutritive system in which carbohydrates are formed photosynthetically through the action of chlorophyll and organic nutrients are not required, and exhibiting a strong tendency to alternation of a sexual with an asexual generation though one or the other may be greatly modified or almost wholly suppressed — see : alga , fern , fungus , moss ; animal , saprophyte
2. : one thought to resemble a growing plant
a sensitive plant who must be shielded from shock
3.
a. : the land, buildings, machinery, apparatus, and fixtures employed in carrying on a trade or a mechanical or other industrial business
to meet the nation's telephone needs we again built a great deal of new physical plant — C.F.Craig
b. : a factory or workshop for the manufacture of a particular product
an automobile plant
an ice-cream plant
c. : the total facilities available for production or service in a particular country or place
a nation which both in present plant and in natural resources is probably the richest in the world — New Republic
not just the town's sewers but its streets, its schools — its whole plant — had to be enlarged for the new arrivals — C.W.Thayer
d. : a piece of equipment or a set of machine parts functioning together for the performance of a particular operation
a couple of experts armed with drills, an oxyacetylene plant , and other strange tools — F.W.Crofts
e. chiefly Australia : the equipment and personnel necessary for an enterprise (as stock raising or mining)
such a plant may consist of a head stockman, one or two other white men and up to twenty aboriginals — Australian Veterinary Journal
f. : the physical equipment (as buildings or athletic fields) of an institution (as a college)
several large bequests have enabled the school to expand its plant
4.
[ plant (I) ]
a. : stolen goods ; also : a place for storing them
b.
(1) : undercover man
joined the criminal ring as a plant
(2) : fixed police surveillance
to put a plant on a suspect
c. : a swindling plot : a scheme to defraud
d.
(1) : something deliberately placed so that its discovery may deceive or mislead
left muddy footprints as a plant to confuse the police
(2) : something (as a news story or rumor) whose publication or dissemination is deliberately arranged by an individual or group for a particular purpose
the story had all the earmarks of a propaganda plant
e.
(1) : a seemingly casual statement or action deliberately inserted in a play to prepare the spectator for a later development or effect
(2) : a person placed in an audience to take a seemingly spontaneous part in the proceedings
f. : a trap for wrongdoers
the town has set up several plants for traffic violators
5.
[ plant (I) ]
: a way of standing : pose
took up a determined plant in front of the door
6.
[ plant (I) ]
a. : a crop or growth of something planted
the sugar beet is up to a good plant once again — A.G.Street
b.
(1) : the stocking of a place with animals (as fish or game) for conservation or sport
the authorities made a small plant of deer on the islands — C.C.Van Fleet
(2) : an oyster that has been bedded as distinguished from one of natural growth ; also : a young oyster suitable for transplanting