Word forms: comparative plainer, superlative plainest, plural plains
1. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
A plain object, surface, or fabric is entirely in one colour and has no pattern, design, or writing on it.
In general, a plain carpet makes a room look bigger.
He placed the paper in a plain envelope.
He wore a plain blue shirt, open at the collar.
2. adjective
Something that is plain is very simple in style.
Bronwen's dress was plain but it hung well on her.
It was a plain, grey stone house, distinguished mainly by its largely unspoilt simplicity.
Synonyms: unadorned, simple, basic, severe More Synonyms of plain
plainlyadverb [ADVERB -ed]
He was very tall and plainly dressed.
3. adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If a fact, situation, or statement is plain, it is easy to recognize or understand.
It was plain to him that I was having a nervous breakdown.
He's made it plain that he loves the game and wants to be involved still.
Synonyms: clear, obvious, patent, evident More Synonyms of plain
4. See also plain-spoken
5. adjective
If you describe someone as plain, you think they look ordinary and not at all beautiful.
...a shy, rather plain girl with a pale complexion.
Synonyms: ugly, ordinary, unattractive, homely [US, Canadian] More Synonyms of plain
6. countable noun
A plain is a large flat area of land with very few trees on it.
Once there were 70 million buffalo on the plains.
Synonyms: flatland, plateau, prairie, grassland More Synonyms of plain
7. adverb [ADVERB adjective]
You can use plain before an adjective in order to emphasize it.
[emphasis]
The food was just plain terrible.
Plain is also used before a noun.
Is it love of publicity or plain stupidity on her part?
8. adjective [ADJ n-proper]
You can use plain before a name to emphasize how simple and ordinary it is, especially when you are comparing it with another more unusual or impressive name.
[emphasis]
Why couldn't they call you plain Ann or Alice like the rest?
9.
See in plain clothes
10. plain sailing
More Synonyms of plain
plain in British English1
(pleɪn)
adjective
1.
flat or smooth; level
2.
not complicated; clear
the plain truth
3.
not difficult; simple or easy
a plain task
4.
honest or straightforward
5.
lowly, esp in social rank or education
6.
without adornment or show
a plain coat
7.
(of fabric) without pattern or of simple untwilled weave
8.
not attractive
9.
not mixed; simple
plain vodka
10. knitting
of or done in plain
noun
11.
a level or almost level tract of country, esp an extensive treeless region
12.
a simple stitch in knitting made by putting the right needle into a loop on the left needle, passing the wool round the right needle, and pulling it through the loop, thus forming a new loop
13. (in billiards)
a.
the unmarked white ball, as distinguished from the spot balls
b.
the player using this ball
14.
(in Ireland) short for plain porter, a light porter
two pints of plain, please
adverb
15.
(intensifier)
just plain tired
Derived forms
plainly (ˈplainly)
adverb
plainness (ˈplainness)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French: simple, from Latin plānus level, distinct, clear
plain in British English2
(pleɪn)
verb
a dialect or poetic word for complain
Word origin
C14 pleignen, from Old French plaindre to lament, from Latin plangere to beat
plain in American English1
(pleɪn)
adjective
1. Obsolete
flat; level; plane
2.
free from obstructions; open; clear
in plain view
3.
clearly understood; evident; obvious
to make one's meaning plain
4.
a.
outspoken; frank; straightforward
plain talk
b.
downright; thoroughgoing
plain nonsense
5.
not luxurious or ornate; unembellished
a plain coat
6.
not complicated; simple
plain sewing
7.
not good-looking; homely
a plain face
8.
not figured, dyed, or twilled
plain cloth
9.
pure; unmixed
plain soda
10.
not of high rank or position; such as characterizes the common people; ordinary
a plain man
noun
11.
an extent of level country
adverb
12.
clearly or simply
just plain tired
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈevident
Derived forms
plainly (ˈplainly)
adverb
plainness (ˈplainness)
noun
Word origin
OFr < L planus, flat, level < IE base *plā-, broad, flat > floor, field
plain in American English2
(pleɪn)
verb intransitive
Chiefly Dialectal
to complain
Word origin
ME pleynen < OFr plaindre < L plangere: see plaint
More idioms containing
plain
plain as day
plain as the nose on your face
plain sailing
Examples of 'plain' in a sentence
plain
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content.Read more…
Others report that some online fitness regimes are just plain silly.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Not that it will be plain sailing from here on.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The film makes plain all kinds of details we may have missed or forgotten.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Odd earrings add an instant hint of quirk to a plain white shirt.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Last season was far from plain sailing.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But their import was plain enough.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
But much of it is plain wrong and it's time to end a few myths.
The Sun (2016)
Sometimes they'll just plain rip us off.
The Sun (2017)
This is just criminality plain and simple.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
We had talked about marriage before and how we would want to keep it plain and simple.
The Sun (2016)
They should go back to having auditions just as plain as they used to be.
The Sun (2011)
These heading tapes look marvellous combined with sheer and plain fabrics.
Churchill, Jane (ed.) Collins Complete Books of Soft Furnishings (1993)
Cue the sound of disappointment at the prospect of writing solely about her rather plain white walls.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Or it might just be plain stupidity.
The Sun (2015)
Pin and stitch one half width to outside edge of each full width with plain flat seams.
Churchill, Jane (ed.) Collins Complete Books of Soft Furnishings (1993)
Is it possible to get plain food in restaurants?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They are posted out in plain envelopes.
The Sun (2014)
Team with a plain white tee and some chic heels for a timeless outfit.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Flood plain land is to be avoided.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Yet it is not going to be plain sailing in the coming months.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Stick with a plain colour on top and keep shoes neutral.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The plain fact is that such cuts would be no such thing.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Ask him to choose between blue plaid or plain white for a casual shirt: no chance.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In fact, the plains game are pretty low in numbers.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Call it what you like, the colour of the season is plain old grey.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
I want to make things plain and clear.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
As the anatomical drawing that greets visitors to this show makes plain, light linked directly to the soul.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The top of a more resistant flow might make an extensive plain, and then its successor would comprise the next flat area, perhaps half as wide.
Richard Fortey THE EARTH: An Intimate History (2004)
In other languages
plain
British English: plain /pleɪn/ ADJECTIVE
A plain object, surface, or fabric is entirely in one colour and has no pattern, design, or writing on it.
A plain carpet makes a room look bigger.
American English: plain
Arabic: بَسِيط
Brazilian Portuguese: plano
Chinese: 简单的
Croatian: običan
Czech: nezdobený
Danish: ensartet
Dutch: effen
European Spanish: sencillo
Finnish: tasainen
French: simple pas compliqué
German: schlicht
Greek: απέριττος
Italian: semplice
Japanese: 平坦な
Korean: 평평한
Norwegian: jevn
Polish: gładki
European Portuguese: plano
Romanian: uni
Russian: плоский
Latin American Spanish: sencillo
Swedish: enkel okonstlad
Thai: ราบเรียบ
Turkish: düz desensiz, süssüz
Ukrainian: простий
Vietnamese: bằng phẳng
British English: plain /pleɪn/ NOUN
A plain is a large, flat area of land with very few trees on it.
Once there were 70 million buffalo on the plains.
American English: plain
Arabic: سَهْل
Brazilian Portuguese: planície
Chinese: 平原
Croatian: ravnica
Czech: pláň
Danish: slette
Dutch: vlakte
European Spanish: llanura
Finnish: tasanko
French: plaine
German: Ebene
Greek: πεδιάδα
Italian: pianura
Japanese: 平原
Korean: 평야
Norwegian: slette
Polish: równina
European Portuguese: planície
Romanian: câmpie
Russian: равнина
Latin American Spanish: llanura
Swedish: rätstickning
Thai: ที่ราบ
Turkish: ova
Ukrainian: рівнина
Vietnamese: đồng bằng
Translate your text for free
All related terms of 'plain'
flood plain
A flood plain is a flat area on the edge of a river , where the ground consists of soil , sand , and rock left by the river when it floods.
plain fact
When you refer to something as a fact or as fact , you mean that you think it is true or correct .
plain flour
Plain flour is flour that does not make cakes and biscuits rise when they are cooked because it has no chemicals added to it.
plain Jane
a plain , dowdy , unremarkable woman or girl
plain-laid
(of a cable or rope ) made of three strands twisted together from left to right
plain suit
a suit other than the trump suit
plain text
a message set in a directly readable form rather than in coded groups
plain weave
the most common and tightest of basic weave structures in which the filling threads pass over and under successive warp threads and repeat the same pattern with alternate threads in the following row , producing a checkered surface
coastal plain
a plain extending along a coast
plain bearing
A plain bearing is a shaft bearing in which a shaft rotates lubricated by an oil or grease .
plain clothes
Plain-clothes police officers wear ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform.
plain dealing
straightforward dealing with others
Plain People
the Mennonites, Dunkers, and Amish people
plain sailing
If you say that a task was not all plain sailing , you mean that it was not very easy.
plain-spoken
If you say that someone is plain-spoken , you mean that they say exactly what they think , even when they know that what they say may not please other people.
plain turkey
a bustard
plain yoghurt
natural yoghurt, without added flavouring
Staked Plain
the S part of the Great Plains of the US, extending over W Texas and E New Mexico : oil and natural gas resources . Chief towns: Lubbock and Amarillo . Area: 83 700 sq km (30 000 sq miles)
walled plain
any of the largest of the lunar craters , having diameters between 50 and 300 kilometres
Nullarbor Plain
a vast low plateau of S Australia : extends north from the Great Australian Bight to the Great Victoria Desert ; has no surface water or trees. Area: 260 000 sq km (100 000 sq miles)
plain as day
very easy to see , or very obvious and easy to understand
plain chocolate
Plain chocolate is dark-brown chocolate that has a stronger and less sweet taste than milk chocolate.
plain language
language that is clear and easy to understand , with no ambiguity or unnecessarily difficult words
plain speaking
candidness; frankness; bluntness
Salisbury Plain
an open chalk plateau in S England, in Wiltshire : site of Stonehenge ; military training area. Average height : 120 m (400 ft)
plain-spokenness
the quality or characteristic of being plain-spoken
in plain clothes
If a police officer is in plain clothes , he or she is wearing ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform .
just (plain) folks
simple and unassuming ; not snobbish
Plain of Jezreel
→ another name for Esdraelon
Plain of Sharon
a plain in W Israel , between the Mediterranean and the hills of Samaria , extending from Haifa to Tel Aviv
plain as the nose on your face
very obvious or easy to understand
Chinese translation of 'plain'
plain
(pleɪn)
adj
(= not patterned) 无(無)图(圖)案花纹(紋)的 (wú tú'àn huāwén de)