PLOTS | English Meaning, Definition, and Pronunciation

late Old English plot (in plot (sense 3 of the noun)), of unknown origin. The sense ‘secret plan’, dating from the late 16th century, is associated with Old French complot ‘dense crowd, secret project’, the same term being used occasionally in English from the mid 16th century Compare with plat

a plan made in secret by a group of people to do something illegal or harmful

secret plan to do something illegal or harmful

• they have been jailed for their part in a plot to defraud a Swiss bank

the main events of a play, novel, film, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence

main events of novel etc. as interrelated sequence

• the plot consists almost entirely of a man and woman falling in love
• he outlined his idea for a movie plot

a small piece of ground marked out for a purpose such as building or gardening

piece of ground marked out for purpose

• a vegetable plot

a graph showing the relation between two variables.

graph showing relation between variables

secretly make plans to carry out (an illegal or harmful action)

secretly plan illegal or harmful action

• the two men are serving sentences for plotting a bomb campaign
• brother plots against brother

devise the sequence of events in (a play, novel, film, or similar work)

devise sequence of events in novel etc.

• she would plot a chapter as she drove
• in a crime story you have to plot carefully to achieve the surprise at the end

mark (a route or position) on a chart

mark route or position on chart

• he started to plot lines of ancient sites