plant
noun
/plɑːnt/
living thing
countable a living thing that grows in the earth and usually has a stem, leaves and roots, especially one that is smaller than a tree or bush All plants need light and water.
flowering plants
native/medicinal/wild plants
a tomato/potato plant
It's becoming more popular to grow plants organically.
The area is home to many rare plant species.
the animal and plant life of the area
Collocations
adjective
verb + plant
plant + verb
plant + noun
e.g.
factory
2 countable a factory or place where power is produced or an industrial process takes place a nuclear power plant
a processing/manufacturing plant
Japanese car plants
a water treatment plant
a chemical/steel/coal plant
e.g.
Collocations
adjective
verb + plant
plant + verb
plant + noun
machines
3 uncountable the large machines that are used in industrial processes The company has been investing in new plant and equipment.
something illegal
4 countable, usually singular (informal) something that somebody has deliberately placed among another person’s clothes or possessions in order to make them appear guilty of a crime He claimed that the drugs found in his house were a plant.
person
5 countable a person who joins a group of criminals or enemies in order to get and secretly report information about their activities /plɑːnt/
seeds/plants
1 plant something to put plants, seeds, etc. in the ground to grow
to plant a tree/seed/crop
to plant and harvest rice
Plant the bulbs in pots for a spring display.
Collocations
adverb
preposition
phrases
2 often passive to cover or supply a garden, area of land, etc. with plants plant something
The children are planting a garden next to the school.
They have planted five acres of vines.
a densely planted orange grove
be planted with something
The field had been ploughed and planted with corn.
e.g.
put in position
3 plant something/yourself + adv./prep. to place something or yourself in a particular place or position
They planted a flag on the summit.
He planted himself squarely in front of us.
She was determined to keep both feet firmly planted on dry land.
e.g.
Collocations
adverb
preposition
on
bomb
4 plant something (+ adv./prep.) to hide something such as a bomb in a place where it will not be found
e.g.
something illegal
5 plant something (on somebody) to hide something, especially something illegal, in somebody’s clothing, possessions, etc. so that when it is found it will look as though they committed a crime
He claims that the drugs were planted on him.
person
6 plant somebody (in something) to send somebody to join a group, etc., especially in order to make secret reports on its members
The police had planted an informer in the gang.
e.g.
thought/idea
7 plant something (in something) to make somebody think or believe something, especially without them realizing that you gave them the idea
He planted the first seeds of doubt in my mind.
Word Origin
Old English plante ‘seedling’, plantian (verb), from Latin planta ‘sprout, cutting’ (later influenced by French plante) and plantare ‘plant, fix in a place’.