Link Centre Dictionary

design

de·sign

UK/dəˈzɑe̯n/ US/dɪˈzaɪn/ common
verb (7) noun (7)

verb

1.

make or work out a plan for; devise

  • “They contrived to murder their boss”
  • “design a new sales strategy”
  • “plan an attack”
Synonyms
2.

design something for a specific role or purpose or effect

  • “This room is not designed for work”
3.

create the design for; create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner

  • “Chanel designed the famous suit”
4.

make a design of; plan out in systematic, often graphic form

  • “design a better mousetrap”
  • “plan the new wing of the museum”
Synonyms
5.

create designs

  • “Dupont designs for the house of Chanel”
6.

conceive or fashion in the mind; invent

  • “She designed a good excuse for not attending classes that day”
7.

intend or have as a purpose

  • “She designed to go far in the world of business”

noun

1.

the act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan)

  • “he contributed to the design of a new instrument”
Synonyms
2.

an arrangement scheme

  • “the awkward design of the keyboard made operation difficult”
  • “it was an excellent design for living”
  • “a plan for seating guests”
Synonyms
3.

something intended as a guide for making something else

  • “a blueprint for a house”
  • “a pattern for a skirt”
Synonyms
4.

a decorative or artistic work

  • “the coach had a design on the doors”
Synonyms
5.

an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions

  • “his intent was to provide a new translation”
  • “good intentions are not enough”
  • “it was created with the conscious aim of answering immediate needs”
  • “he made no secret of his designs”
Synonyms
6.

a preliminary sketch indicating the plan for something

  • “the design of a building”
7.

Origin

From Middle English designen, from Old French designer, from Latin designō (“to mark out, point out, describe, design, contrive”), from de- (or dis-) + signō (“to mark”), from signum (“mark”).

Phrases

  • a camel is a horse designed by a committee
  • argument from design
  • by design
  • design code
  • design depth
  • design fiction
  • design flaw
  • design language
  • design-based learning

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.