de·sign
| di-ˈzīn
designed; designing; designs
1
: to plan and make decisions about (something that is being built or created) : to create the plans, drawings, etc., that show how (something) will be made
A team of engineers designed the new engine. a badly designed building See More ExamplesShe designs clothes. Who designed the book’s cover?Hide
2
: to plan and make (something) for a specific use or purpose
He designed the chair to adjust automatically.
3
: to think of (something, such as a plan) : to plan (something) in your mind
They thought they could design the perfect crime. design a strategy for battle
transitive verb
1
: to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan : devise, contrive
design a system for tracking inventory
2a
: to conceive and plan out in the mind
he designed the perfect crime
b
: to have as a purpose : intend
she designed to excel in her studies
c
: to devise for a specific function or end
a book designed primarily as a college textbook a suitcase designed to hold a laptop computer
3
archaic
: to indicate with a distinctive mark, sign, or name
4a
: to make a drawing, pattern, or sketch of
… a curious woman whose dresses always looked as if they had been designed in a rage …— Oscar Wilde
b
: to draw the plans for
design a building designing a new bike
intransitive verb
1
: to conceive or execute a plan
2
: to draw, lay out, or prepare a design
was trained to design for homes and offices
1a
: a particular purpose or intention held in view by an individual or group
He has ambitious designs for his son.
b
: deliberate purposive planning
more by accident than design
2
: a mental project or scheme in which means to an end are laid down
was never part of my design
3a
: a deliberate undercover project or scheme : plot
a declaration of a design upon his life— John Locke
b
designs plural
: aggressive or evil intent
—used with on or against he has designs on the money
4
: a preliminary sketch or outline showing the main features of something to be executed
the design for the new stadium
5a
: an underlying scheme that governs functioning, developing, or unfolding : pattern, motif
the general design of the epic
b
: a plan or protocol for carrying out or accomplishing something (such as a scientific experiment)
also
: the process of preparing this
6
: the arrangement of elements or details in a product or work of art
… his sense of structure, both in the general design of Paradise Lost and Samson, and in his syntax …— T. S. Eliot
7
: a decorative pattern
a floral design
8
: the creative art of executing aesthetic or functional designs
studied design in college
