1A living organism of the kind exemplified by trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, ferns, and mosses, typically growing in a permanent site, absorbing water and inorganic substances through its roots, and synthesizing nutrients in its leaves by photosynthesis using the green pigment chlorophyll.

Plants differ from animals in lacking specialized sense organs, having no capacity for voluntary movement, having cell walls, and growing to suit their surroundings rather than having a fixed body plan

1. 1.1 A small plant, as distinct from a shrub or tree.
   garden plants

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It is an opportunity to buy unusual garden plants.
   • Crab spiders are common and occur in fairly high numbers on most crops and garden plants.
   • A member of the poppy family, the celandine plant is distinct for its golden yellow flower and bright orange milky juice.
   • Garden plants and shrubs and garden furniture all produced at Dove House will also be on sale during the afternoon.
   • The front garden also has numerous plants and shrubs.
   • Western Oregon had been very low on rainfall that year, and even the plants in our backyard garden were wilting.
   • Alpine and rock garden plants provide gardeners with a fantastic range to choose from and often produce disproportionately large or prolific numbers of attractive flowers.
   • Initially corn was a garden plant valued for early maturity and easy food preparation.
   • Mature leaves of maize were taken from plants grown in the greenhouse during the summer.
   • However, in a few cases, seeds of plants cultivated in botanical gardens were also used.
   • Arizona's other urban pillar, Tucson, seems more in tune with the desert, and uses local trees and plants to landscape gardens and parks.
   • In both cases, leaf water and osmotic potential was lower than that of plants grown under conditions.
   • This garden is packed with mature trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.
   • Grass and small plants are growing on top of the sandstone.
   • Thus, leaf N was greater than root N when tomato plants were grown on nitrate.
   • Domanic took pride in his vegetable garden with 20 tomato plants of various varieties.
   • Still, the same rule can be applied in a household garden when planting herbaceous plants and smaller shrubs.
   • Italians naturally have a ‘green thumb,’ and even those living in apartments grow plants in pots.
   • Aloe is a green plant that has long leaves with somewhat spiky edges.
   • The leaves of plants within this family grow in opposite pairs; their stems are square.

2A place where an industrial or manufacturing process takes place.

1. 2.1 Machinery used in an industrial or manufacturing process.
   inadequate investment in new plant

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The employer, it was said, was under a duty to take reasonable care to supply his workmen with proper plant and machinery.
   • We produce none of the sophisticated plant, equipment and machinery we need to mine, catch or process what the earth gives us.
   • He says it has also set annual targets for operational efficiency, including plant and machinery downtime.
   • He said the secret behind the firm's success is that profits are ploughed back into the company to invest in new plant and machinery.
   • Heavy investment has been made in plant and machinery to ensure that each pudding is perfectly steamed over a specific period.
   • But unlike plant and machinery, a new owner cannot sell staff and get a return.
   • Under a Government scheme, companies that purchase equipment and plant machinery can build up credit on their tax bill according to how much they invest.
   • Resources include plant and machinery, patents, brands, and skilled people.
   • The company auctions excess inventory such as industrial plant and machinery online, and claims the process is secure for both vendors and bidders.
   • It has already invested more than £1 million in new plant and machinery.
   • Capital allowances are given instead, for plant, machinery and factory type premises.
   • He could just sell plant and machinery to the company.
   • It invests in plant & equipment, manufacturing a variety of vehicles and other products.
   • From now on motor vehicles will be treated the same as other plant and machinery and both categories will be allowed over a 5 year period.
   • As the machinery and plant, plus the men, were all in good trim, they were convinced that no other obstacles, like those of the past would occur again.
   • The mining lease, machinery and plant, which had cost more than six thousands Pounds were sold at auction for just five Pounds.
   • Officers also stipulate that no plant or machinery should be installed or operated at the premises in connection with the use at any time.
   • On November 25 he saw heavy plant and machinery in use.
   • Theoretically, an employee can claim a capital allowance for machinery or plant used in his employment.
   • The appellants were involved in the design, manufacture, supply and installation of plant and machinery for the steel manufacturing industry.

   Synonyms

   machinery, machines, equipment, apparatus, appliances, gear

3A person placed in a group as a spy or informer.

1. 3.1 A thing put among someone's belongings to incriminate or compromise them.
   he insisted that the cocaine in the glove compartment was a plant

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Within two days they were exploring the possibility that the note was a plant and that the saboteurs might not be a terrorist group after all, but possibly a disgruntled railroad employee.

1Place (a seed, bulb, or plant) in the ground so that it can grow.

1. 1.1 Place a seed, bulb, or plant in (a place) to grow.
   the garden is planted with herbs

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Some areas were planted with alien conifers but these are slowly being replaced by native broadleaf trees that would have historically been found in the forest.
   • This shrub can become very large in size, therefore needing a large area to be planted in.
   • We had a large kitchen garden and occasionally planted a small field of corn but we did not maintain a high operation farm like the majority of our neighbors.
   • There is off-street parking and a paved patio area to the rear, and the gardens are planted with lawns and rose bushes.
   • In August, open areas can be planted with perennial cover crops such as clover or sainfoin, sometimes called esparcet or holy clover.
   • Trees, including copper beech and mountain ash, are planted around the lawn area at the base of the garden to give a sense of scale.
   • The children's play area was finished off yesterday, a fitness trail is being created and a mini-orchard and nature area will be planted in the coming months.
   • The Shakespeare Garden is planted with herbs referred to by Shakespeare in his plays, including mint, camomile, marjoram and lavender.
   • The terrace areas were subsequently planted with a variety of small shrubs.
   • A bit of a waste of a resource when we could be planting plantations on cleared land, instead of chopping down magnificent forests.
   • That building had been an eyesore for years, and was totally superfluous since its function was to raise seedlings for planting the parks around the place with fresh flowers.
   • As noted above, many of the areas being planted to oil palm are in wetlands.
   • Owen planted the grassy area known as Stockroute Park with olive and cypress trees, creating a Greek landscape.
   • These isolation areas were planted to wheat, soybean, or sorghum the previous year.
   • The villagers have come from their gardens and planted the roadsides with daffodils.
   • Those areas are not planted specifically for cutting, nor are they by any means flat.
   • No herbicides or pesticides are used on the garden, which was planted in early 1995.
   • If someone applied for resource consent for planting a large area in forestry, that would have a positive climate change effect.
   • On average, about 2,000 palms can be planted on such an area of land, Lee said.
   • Many elementary schools have herb gardens that are planted and cared for by the students.

   Synonyms

   cultivate, bring under cultivation, till, work, plough, dig
2. 1.2informal Bury (someone).
   Example sentencesExamples

   • She has threatened him, who apparently is a very nice chap, that if he takes any more of our votes, she's going to plant him in the ground with his trees.
   • He won't be mentioned too very much here due to the fact that we planted him 13 years ago and he's just been no fun since.

   Synonyms

   inter, place in a tomb, lay to rest, bury, consign to the grave

2Place or fix in a specified position.

1. 2.1plant oneself Position oneself.
   she planted herself on the arm of his chair

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The woman hands a bag of food to her daughter, strides up to the swings, plants herself directly before her son and in one motion wraps her arms around the boy's legs, tackling him in mid-air.
   • Like almost every foreigner who plants himself among peasants, the good doctor made at least one enemy, when he tried to stop the annual cull of migrant birds by the local butcher.
   • Or get a spiral notebook and a ballpoint, plant yourself under a tree, and pen a few lines of prose.
   • He plants himself in the middle of the room, and he speaks.
   • I know this because she keeps planting herself in the living room stamping her feet, shaking her head, and demanding that I find a way to entertain her.
   • She was asked to step over to the ‘rush’ line, where she planted herself in last bright rays of afternoon sunshine.
   • Klaxons and alarums rang out, and soldiers and archers and mages by the thousands surrounded the castle and planted themselves in prearranged positions.
   • He plants himself firmly in the realm of hip hop, and his solo albums and collaborations support this.
   • We lingered long over the paper with lots of ‘help’ to digest the news of the day, but as the mercury climbed steadily into triple digits we planted ourselves in front of the fan and tried to move as little as possible.
   • He arrives late, plants himself on the couch next to him, and lights a cigar.
   • The postmaster plants himself between a particularly agitated man and him, telling the man that he will be judged at Paris.
   • That's usually the way to get things done as a resident, I've found - just plant yourself in front of the people responsible (be it the lab supervisor, the x-ray tech, the pharmacist or what have you) and do not leave until they help you.
   • Whenever I see these common birds - the slim statues of ivory bodies, the fiery plumage of breeding pairs - I could plant myself in one spot and watch forever.
   • Once again, he has put the Caribbean on the sports map, and in the process firmly planted himself at the top of cricket's batting hierarchy.
   • Wal-Mart outwitted its rival by growing slowly since 1962 and first planting itself in many rural areas, where it cost much less to build.
   • And, while you have little control over random run-ins at school, you must stop strategically planting yourself in the bleachers during his soccer practice.
   • Watching him, I can't help but think of the stylites, fanatical Christian monks of the Middle Ages who would plant themselves atop columns in the desert and stay there for weeks and months.
   • I grabbed a friend and we planted ourselves at a filthy booth with our tray of artery-clogging food and a cup of ice cold Storm to wash it down with.
   • With my dog on an extra long leash, I planted myself on a lawn chair and read ‘Unfit for Command’ by flashlight until about 1: 00 a.m.
   • They plant themselves right in the middle of Poorville.
2. 2.2 Establish (an idea) in someone's mind.
   the seed of doubt is planted in his mind

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Back in 1996, when she first planted the idea of creating an Internet portal for farmers, she failed to reap any results.
   • But as the elevator raced up, a seed of doubt had been firmly planted in my mind.
   • I do think the piece was subtly constructed to plant this idea.
   • Perhaps the original idea of 2001 as Year Of The Ape was planted in our minds by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
   • What seeds do we want, as teachers of writing and as writers about the business of writing, to plant in the minds of other and emerging writers?
   • If I plant subliminal ideas in his developing mind he will no doubt fall madly in love with me in the present.
   • He would have continued his observation of the Scientific Convention if doubt hadn't been planted in his mind.
   • A seed of doubt has been planted in the minds of parents, rightly or wrongly, but just the same it's there and cannot be reversed.
   • Several notable challenges remain planted in my mind.
   • An idea has been planted that opera and culture could be one way to restore Kenya's ailing tourism industry.
   • But he does not believe it is a true memory and the images must have been planted in his mind by the aggressive questioning of the police at the time of Ben's disappearance.
   • The doubts were planted in his mind when he took part in a excavation at the royal fort at Dunadd in Argyll in the 1970s.
   • A year later three politicians from Scotland's new Parliament travelled to Washington to witness Tartan Day and the seeds of an idea were planted.
   • This new idea which had been planted subconsciously in his mind by a man with no reading or writing skills, began to give him a healthy respect for himself.
   • Something had been planted in your mind, you just didn't realize it.
   • Following the fall of The Wall he planted an idea of bringing five Lowton churches together to set up The Lowton Churches Romania Appeal.
   • By catering to his whims, you have planted the notion that he is entitled to demand whatever he wants.
   • If others are stubborn, and that's likely, you'll just plant an idea in their mind, then wait till they suggest it as if it was something they just thought of.
   • I could accidentally plant suggestions in your mind, or take you someplace dangerous.
   • Someone had to plant the idea to encourage others to come on board.
   • After the germ of the idea was first planted in her mind by the deserted camp at Spring Hill, she set to researching Cotswold life during wartime years.

   Synonyms

   insert, impress, imprint, instil, put, place
3. 2.3 Secretly place (a bomb that is set to go off at a later time).
   Example sentencesExamples

   • It was not immediately clear who planted the bombs.
   • At the same time bombs were also planted at Oval and above ground at one of the Shepherd's Bush stations.
   • Two men were convicted for planting the bombs aboard the Cubana flight.
   • They allege that if they were terrorists they would have had no difficulty planting a bomb as they checked tickets, frisked fans and walked close to the pitch.
   • Magistrates at the youth court in Trowbridge heard on Friday how the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, put on an American accent and told staff a bomb was planted in one of the school buildings.
   • His plan failed when he ran out of money for explosives and his conspirators planted the bomb next to the wrong support structure within the basement of the building.
   • Another factor preventing their return is the thousands of land mines that were planted during the war.
   • Pipe bombs were planted on a window ledge of the house and beneath the van in the village of Cloughmills.
   • A man accused of planting a car bomb as part of a terrorist feud spent hours ‘scouting’ the area near his victim's Bolton home, a court was told.
   • As long as a single individual feels justified in firing a missile, or planting a bomb, or wielding a penknife, terror will never be totally defeated.
   • Sources said that two time bombs were planted to destroy the antenna which exploded simultaneously.
   • A land mine had been planted in the stadium during construction.
   • He was held as a material witness with supposed knowledge of a plot to plant a dirty bomb in the United States.
   • An estimated four million to six million land mines have been planted in Cambodia since 1967.
   • The game required that players deduce the location of an atom bomb planted by terrorists before it exploded.
   • To use the classic example, one could claim that he had in custody a suspect believed to have planted a time bomb that, if not defused, would kill many innocents.
   • Saboteurs planted a bomb on that pipeline last night.
   • I condemn those responsible for planting the bomb.
   • According to recent reports, the SAS are using satellite tracking devices to pinpoint and kill suicide bombers as they utter their final prayers before planting their bombs.
   • In a separate incident in Jebaliya, the army said it shot a man who was throwing grenades and planting a bomb.
4. 2.4 Put or hide (something) among someone's belongings to compromise or incriminate the owner.
   he planted drugs on him to extort a bribe

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I decided to plant an imposter cava among the seven authentic champagnes.
   • He's highly skilled at defeating surveillance systems, planting bugs and ferreting information from computer systems.
   • He enlivened one spring camp in Cocoa, after the club switched to Florida, by planting a young but very alive cobra in another player's foot locker.
   • She said she was given cash by him to buy drugs and told to plant them in the Point Inn in Quigley's Point, Inishowen.
   • As an indicator, he was asked by the press if the guns found at Kraal were planted there, and he answered ‘No Comment’!
   • After all, if someone has gained control of a suspect's computer couldn't incriminated material be planted?
   • Apparently he can convince the cops to plant drugs in her purse if she tries to leave the marriage with their daughter.
   • The only thing that could change the outcome would be a conviction of a baggage handler at Brisbane or Sydney airport for planting the drugs in his bag.
   • Mainly because it seems more likely that she was actually trafficking drugs than it is that someone planted them on her.
   • In Spain, a young teen is arrested after a drug dealer plants some hash in his backpack.
   • She probably made him plant false evidence to hide what really happened that day.
   • His organisation was given millions of dollars to promote the cause which largely involved planting false information about him in the world's media.
   • During the trial, the court was told police had smashed the drugs ring by planting a hidden microphone at their headquarters, Debbie's Diner.
   • Or, as he has suggested, where they deliberately planted in order to discredit the White House?
   • The surveillance by the army's FRU, and its IRA double agents, included the planting of bugs in the homes of Irish republican activists and sympathisers.

   Synonyms

   hide, place secretly, conceal, secrete
5. 2.5 Send (someone) to join a group or organization to act as a spy or informer.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • She took out her gun and prepared herself for the battle she thought would end her life, unaware that the Agent planted was also at the scene.
   • Some of my friends think that he was planted by the producers.
   • They combined nobility of thought with practical incapacity; they did not spot the Gestapo informer planted on them.
   • The task of counterintelligence is to figure out what the other side is doing, how they are deceiving us, what double agents they have planted in our midst.
   • Indeed, there were rumors that a paranoid White House was planting informants in newsrooms and even tapping reporters' phones.
   • Actors were planted in the audience, fitted with specially adapted costumes.
   • Imagine their outrage if Democrats tried to plant a guy like this in the press corps!
   • There have been agents almost certainly planted in certain extremist right wing groups.
   • The FBI considered AIM an extremist organization, and planted spies in the group.
   • Now it turns out the question read by him was planted by a newspaper reporter.
   • The party had said it did not support the man and that he was planted by him to split his vote.
   • They seem to have done two things, take their time to study our operations and plant people at every level of the CPA administration.
   • He, for instance, is both a criminal boss and a carefully planted police agent.
   • As for him, he's convinced that he is an agent who's been planted to subvert India.
   • We were not told where we were going, for security reasons - it seemed they might have planted spies among them.
   • He was in fact an undercover officer planted by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.
6. 2.6 Found or establish (a colony, city, or community).
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Churches were planted among a tribal people in the Philippines, teaching was given and leaders were appointed.
   • At the same time, however, Alexander planted new Greek cities across his empire.
   • They talked occasionally of planting colonies, but were diverted by the war.
   • He has been involved in mission and evangelism for over 20 years, including five years in South Africa planting a multicultural congregation.
   • Antioch, the capital of the Roman province of Syria, was where the first church was planted among the Gentiles.
   • I arrived here with my wife of 26 years and three children, and with no idea where the will of God would lead us to settle to begin planting a Reformed Baptist church.
   • Mission groups travel outside the city to plant and nurture new faith communities.
   • But last week he walked away from his much-heralded attempt to buy back the company that had planted him so firmly in the restaurant arena.

   Synonyms

   set up, start, begin, get going, put in place, initiate, institute, form, found, create, bring into being, inaugurate, organize, lay the foundations of, build, construct, install
7. 2.7 Deposit (young fish, spawn, oysters, etc.) in a river or lake.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Later, he did not take it for granted that the fish in a river could simply be planted as needed.
   • Also, they had to treat Sandwash Reservoir after it was found both smallmouth and largemouth bass had been illegally planted, threatening what had been an excellent trout fishery.
   • Crawfish has been planted in many lakes in Sweden, to ensure some fun times and some home-cooked crawfish.
   • This indicated that some of the original fifteen thousand young fish planted in 1871 had survived and matured.
   • Most major Scottish rivers now have a facility in which juvenile salmon can be produced from wild adult fish and planted back into suitable habitat within the catchment.