plane
- Top 3000
Sense 1
- noun
- A1
A machine with wings and engines that carries people or goods through the air.
The plane climbed steeply above the clouds and then levelled off.
She always feels sleepy as soon as the plane takes off.
We watched planes land from the roof of the terminal.
Switch your phone off before the plane leaves the gate.
Common collocations: by plane · catch a plane · get on a plane · the plane takes off · the plane lands · board a plane
Part of: Means of transport, Airports and stations, Holidays
Sense 2 · less common
- noun
- B2
A hand tool with a sharp blade that you push along wood to make it smooth.
He took a plane and shaved the sticking door down a little.
A sharp plane leaves long thin curls of wood behind it.
My grandfather kept his plane wrapped in an oily cloth.
Common collocations: a wooden plane · sharpen a plane · run a plane along · a hand plane
Part of: Science and technology, Materials
Sense 3 · less common
- noun
- C1
A completely flat surface that spreads out in every direction, used when talking about maths.
Any three points that are not in a line define one plane.
Two lines that never meet can still lie in the same plane.
The drawing shows how the two planes cut through each other.
Common collocations: a horizontal plane · in the same plane · the plane of the page · a vertical plane
Part of: Shapes and sizes, Science and technology
Forms
- plural
- planes