design
Americanverb (used with object)
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to prepare the preliminary sketch or the plans for (a work to be executed), especially to plan the form and structure of.
to design a new bridge.
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to plan and fashion artistically or skillfully.
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to intend for a definite purpose.
a scholarship designed for foreign students.
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to form or conceive in the mind; contrive; plan.
The prisoner designed an intricate escape.
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to assign in thought or intention; purpose.
He designed to be a doctor.
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Obsolete. to mark out, as by a sign; indicate.
verb (used without object)
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to make drawings, preliminary sketches, or plans.
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to plan and fashion the form and structure of an object, work of art, decorative scheme, etc.
noun
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an outline, sketch, or plan, as of the form and structure of a work of art, an edifice, or a machine to be executed or constructed.
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organization or structure of formal elements in a work of art; composition.
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the combination of details or features of a picture, building, etc.; the pattern or motif of artistic work.
the design on a bracelet.
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the art of designing.
a school of design.
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a plan or project.
a design for a new process.
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a plot or intrigue, especially an underhand, deceitful, or treacherous one.
His political rivals formulated a design to unseat him.
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designs, a hostile or aggressive project or scheme having evil or selfish motives.
He had designs on his partner's stock.
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intention; purpose; end.
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adaptation of means to a preconceived end.
verb
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to work out the structure or form of (something), as by making a sketch, outline, pattern, or plans
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to plan and make (something) artistically or skilfully
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(tr) to form or conceive in the mind; invent
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(tr) to intend, as for a specific purpose; plan
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obsolete (tr) to mark out or designate
noun
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a plan, sketch, or preliminary drawing
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the arrangement or pattern of elements or features of an artistic or decorative work
the design of the desk is Chippendale
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a finished artistic or decorative creation
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the art of designing
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a plan, scheme, or project
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an end aimed at or planned for; intention; purpose
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(often plural; often foll by on or against) a plot or hostile scheme, often to gain possession of (something) by illegitimate means
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a coherent or purposeful pattern, as opposed to chaos
God's design appears in nature
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philosophy another name for teleological argument
Usage
What is a basic definition of design? Design means to create a plan or sketch of something that is going to be made later, especially a plan that details what the finished thing will do and look like. A design is the plan or sketch created as a result of this activity. Design also means to intend something for a specific purpose. Design has several other senses as a verb and a noun. Design means to sketch something out and draw up a plan of how the finished project will look and function. For example, the government will have a team design a new bridge before actually building it. This means that someone will draw a sketch of what they want the bridge to look like and determine how much weight they want the bridge to hold. The people who actually build the bridge will consult this plan to guide them in the construction. A person who makes these preliminary sketches is called a designer. Real-life examples: Architects design new buildings. Mattel and Hasbro design new toys. Microsoft and Apple frequently design new computers and gadgets. Used in a sentence: The engineer designed a new type of airplane wing. A design is the actual sketch or drawing that a person who is designing something creates. On the internet, you can find some early and original designs of many popular products we use today. Often, these early designs are quite different from the final product. Used in a sentence: The scientists were working on a design for a new type of spacecraft. Design also means to intend something for a specific purpose. Real-life examples: Hats are designed to be worn on the head. A lawnmower is designed to cut grass. Cars are not designed for driving underwater. Used in a sentence: The ad campaign was designed to attract more teenage fans.
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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self-designnoun
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overdesignverb
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redesignverb
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outdesignverb (used with object)
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predesignverb (used with object)
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underdesignverb (used with object)
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designableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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designsimple
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designssimple
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have designedperfect
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has designedperfect
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am designingprogressive
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are designingprogressive
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is designingprogressive
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have been designingperfect progressive
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has been designingperfect progressive
Past
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designedsimple
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had designedperfect
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was designingprogressive
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were designingprogressive
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had been designingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of design
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English designen, from Latin dēsignāre “to mark out”; see de-, sign
Explanation
To design is to conceive, create, sketch out, or invent something. An architect might design a new apartment building, and an inventor might design a new smart phone. Charles Eames, famous designer of fancy modern chairs, said "Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose." That's a broad definition, but then again, design is a broad field. School kids design book report posters, engineers design bridges, and politicians design arguments against their opponents. If you really want to explore design, take some time to examine the expert layout of a Picasso painting.
Vocabulary lists containing design
Engineering - Introductory
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Academy Awards, List 5
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"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ben King, OpenAI’s design director, has heard the feedback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Together, these changes created a new design principle for programmable photonic integrated circuits.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Commission of Fine Arts, a federal agency that advises on design and aesthetics, recommended designs for a circulating $1 coin featuring Trump’s head.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Seren White, who worked on the design of the new curved armour, said the plates had "been tested with the highest level of rigor".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
I was sketching out a design for one, with an arrow pointing the way to our store, when the bell on the door tinkled.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Commission of Fine Arts, a federal agency that advises on design and aesthetics, recommended designs for a circulating $1 coin featuring Trump’s head.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
This approach greatly expanded the flexibility of photonic resonator circuits that had previously been limited by fixed designs.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Even so, Koontz is more bullish about the company’s revenue potential in near-packaged optics designs, which have lower development risk but “a large portion of the advantages of” co-packaged optics.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
The effort calls for a blank slate by accepting new designs for seekers, rocket motors and other major components assembled into a missile that could still be fired from existing Patriot launchers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
I took in the decorations: carved wooden lanterns and heavy painted scrolls hanging from the arbor terrace, screens with images of birds of paradise and other floral designs placed around the tables.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
In an effort to lighten things up and reduce risk—and, let’s be honest, boost productivity through camaraderie—more companies are planning retreats that could have been designed by a bunch of 10-year-olds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Camilla presented Her Majesty the Queen's Special Award for Upcycled Container Gardens to the bee-themed exhibit, which was designed and created by Ingoldisthorpe Church of England Primary School, close to Sandringham.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
These are pathways that antidepressants are designed to influence.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
But when it comes to houses, few are designed to serve their occupants safely into their 70s, 80s and beyond.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Constructed out of a forty-foot-long cylindrical steam boiler, the Hunley was designed for an eight-man crew—seven to turn the hand-cranked propeller and a commander to control the steering and the depth.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
"Or when it comes to designing a place like this, the doors should be designed with more width in mind. Make them wider, make it easier for customers to escape," he says.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Siren Head’s popularity helped Henderson get other illustration work, including designing characters for the 2024 movie “Tarot.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The team accomplished this by designing a control Hamiltonian, a carefully planned sequence of fields and pulses that reproduces the effects of quantum measurements.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 3, 2026
His Los Angeles firm, Studio One Eleven, is overseeing the master plan and designing buildings, but it has also brought in another architect to make the complex’s look more diverse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Just as the period’s architects designed buildings from the same limited collection of motifs and shapes, Haydn and his contemporaries were designing music from a similarly limited catalogue.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.