design
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A plan for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dihzynSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɪˈzaɪn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A specification of an object or process, referring to requirements to be satisfied and thus conditions to be met for them to solve a problem.
A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.
The shape or appearance given to an object, especially one that is intended to make it more attractive.
A pattern, as an element of a work of art or architecture.
The composition of a work of art.
Intention or plot.
verb
To manifest requirements to be satisfied by an object or process for them to solve a problem.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.
Used this way, design is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- blueprint , more casual, better suited to speech than writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use design
- “The client had me create new designs until they were satisfied with one.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Done or made or performed with purpose and intent.
A person who specializes in interior design.
The act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan).
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Identifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from others.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A psychoactive drug deliberately synthesized to avoid anti-drug laws.
Criteria that designers should meet in designing some system or device.
Someone who designs clothing.
Visual communication by a skillful combination of text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, books, etc.
Someone who specializes in graphic design.
The art of designing the interior decoration for a house, office, or other architectural space.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.