From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishplotplot1 /plɒt $ plɑːt/ ●●○ W3 noun [countable] 1 planPLAN a secret plan by a group of people to do something harmful or illegalplot to do something a plot to bomb the UN headquartersplot against a plot against the king The court heard how she and her lover hatched a plot (=planned a plot) to kill her husband. The plot to overthrow the military government was foiled (=prevented from being successful). an assassination plot► see thesaurus at plan2 story/filmALSTORY the events that form the main story of a book, film, or play The plot was a little confusing. We discover that Jack isn’t as innocent as he seems, as the plot unfolds (=gradually becomes clearer).3 → the plot thickens4 piece of land a) LAND/GROUNDa small piece of land for building or growing things on a two-acre plot of land a vegetable plot b) MXa piece of land that a particular family owns in a cemetery, in which members of the family are buried when they die a burial plot5 drawing American EnglishAA a drawing that shows the plan of a building at ground level SYN ground plan → lose the plot at lose(14)COLLOCATIONSverbsbe involved in a plotHe was involved in a plot to kidnap the pope.mastermind a plot (=organize it)He is accused of masterminding a plot to bring down the government.uncover/discover a plotThey didn’t suspect that their plot had been uncovered.foil a plot (=prevent it from being successful)The plot was foiled when he was stopped by US Customs agents.hatch a plot (=make one)They have admitted hatching a plot to kill the president.NOUN + plota murder plotHe was questioned about an attempted murder plot.an assassination plotThe assassination plot to kill General de Gaulle was unsuccessful.a terrorist plotPolice foiled a terrorist plot to attack a nuclear reactor.phrasesthe victim of a plotHe was the victim of a plot by his political opponents.be part of a plotThese accusations are part of a plot to discredit him.
Examples from the Corpus
plot• Jeffrey's family and supporters suspected it to be a plot hatched by Captain Lake and his friends.• Janis was suspected of masterminding a plot against US airlines in East Asia.• The book doesn't have much of a plot, but it's characters are fantastic.• a plot to assassinate the President.• a family plot• He is the first person to be buried in this family plot, which he has bought.• The harbor; suddenly, was a coastal graveyard, one headstone overturning, and one plot coming undone.• Although the plot failed, the reaction it engendered is significant.• But then the plot began to thicken.• The plot was boring, but the special effects were good.• The plot was quickly discovered, and five men were arrested.• The plot was so complicated that I was totally confused by the time I was two chapters in.• The second is currently being tendered, and the bids are to be invited soon for the third plot.plot to do something• The money will be used to top up its land bank crucial to future house building plans from 15,000 plots to 20,000.• The bomber in Vallejo, police said, was part of a plot to disrupt the criminal justice system there.• Samper has claimed those accusations were a plot to remove him from power because he has tried to help the poor.• A plot to bury global warming?• Jurors ruled that Nichols plotted to blow up the building.• She's refuting claims that she thinks the famous topless photos were a Palace plot to discredit the Duchess.• If you have sufficient plots to sell, you can afford to pay for upkeep on the rest of the place.• Three weird sisters, three other witches and three murderers figure in the plot to provide on-stage movement.plot unfolds• The plot unfolds engagingly, with some very entertaining video segments. plot of land• Can you double the number of homes on a plot of land without making the residents claustrophobic or the neighbors ballistic?• During the two world wars the growing of potatoes in every available plot of land was actively encouraged.• Individual families could farm plots of land leased from the state and sell any surpluses in local markets.• Every family will be housed and have an individual plot of land.• You are buying a house precisely because it comes with a large plot of land.• Dryden spent his £13,000 redundancy money on the plot of land where he illegally built the bungalow.• Narou Chaibou, who lives near Illela, can not feed his family with the plot of land he owns.plotplot2 ●○○ verb (plotted, plotting) 1 [intransitive, transitive]PLAN to make a secret plan to harm a person or organization, especially a political leader or governmentplot to do something They had plotted to blow up the White House.plot against He suspected that the military were secretly plotting against him. The minister was found guilty of plotting the downfall of the government. the story of a woman who plots revenge2 [transitive] (also plot out)LINE to draw marks or a line to represent facts, numbers etc We plotted a graph to show the increase in sales figures this year.plot something on something You can plot all these numbers on one diagram for comparison.3 [transitive] (also plot out)TTATTWPLACE to mark, calculate, or follow the path of an aircraft or ship, for example on a map We plotted a course across the Pacific.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
plot• Hence, neither the historical dynamics of myths nor their impact upon present culture can be traced with confidence or systematically plotted.• Plotting against the government was punishable by death.• Eddie is merely reactive plotting device.• Crumey has his fun, but plots his farce elegantly.• The same data are plotted in b but the species are categorised into three different life styles denoted by different symbols.• The results are plotted in figure 6.1.• The results are plotted in figure 9.10.• Cheaper flatbed plotters, capable of plotting on sheets of A4 or A3 size paper, can be interfaced to personal computers.• She spent months plotting revenge.• I intricately plotted the conversations beforehand.• The court heard how Mrs Taylor and her lover had plotted the murder of her husband.• Three men were charged with plotting to plant the biggest bomb ever in Central London.plot to do something• They cluster around telephone boxes and the bus station, plotting to head north.• According to others, she and some friends had plotted to kidnap her.• Another extraordinary tale says that Ra, convinced mankind was plotting to overthrow him, sent Hathor to kill them all.• At the end of August Kerensky abruptly denounced Kornilov for plotting to overthrow the government.• Eighteen months later, Wei resurfaced when charges were brought against him for plotting to overthrow the government.• James Caan is the corrupt miner who plots to seize the rights.• This is not, however the perk it seems, as clients were perpetually dreaming and plotting to stop dealing with Harvard.plotted ... course• Ahab plotted a course which he hoped would take him to the whale.From Longman Business Dictionaryplotplot1 /plɒtplɑːt/ noun [countable]PROPERTY a small piece of land for building or growing things ona vacant plot (=empty piece of land)a plot of landplotplot2 verb (plotted, plotting) [transitive] to draw a line or curve that shows facts or figuresWe plotted a graph to show the increase in sales figures this year.→ See Verb tableOrigin plot1 Old English “piece of land” 