EnglishMain Dictionary
plane
Universal Words
noun, adjective, verb
noun
1 (BrE also aeroplane) (AmE also airplane) 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. * They boarded the plane and flew to Chicago.
2 (geometry) any flat or level surface, or an imaginary flat surface through or joining material objects:
the horizontal / vertical plane * We may describe uniquely any point in a plane by an ordered pair of numbers, called coordinates.
3 a level of thought, existence or development:
to reach a higher plane of achievement * They seem to exist on a different spiritual plane.
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 [onlybeforenoun] (technical) completely flat; level:
a plane surface
verb
1 to make a piece of wood smoother or flatter with a plane:
[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:
Gulls swooped and planed overhead.
3 [V] (of a boat, etc.) to move quickly across water, only just touching the surface:
The boat planed past in clouds of spray.
