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planning

noun

Simple meaning

An act of formulating a program for a definite course of action.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

planing

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈplænɪŋ

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. An act of formulating a program for a definite course of action

    “The planning was more fun than the trip itself.”

  2. The act or process of drawing up plans or layouts for some project or enterprise

  3. The act of formulating of a course of action, or of drawing up plans.

  4. The act of making contingency plans.

  5. uncountable

    Verbal noun of plan: action of the verb to plan.

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: An act of formulating a program for a definite course of action

Used this way, planning is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“The planning was more fun than the trip itself.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use planning

  • “The planning was more fun than the trip itself.”noun
  • “His planning for retirement was hindered by several uncertainties.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

family planningplanning commissiontown planningcity planningplanning boardplanning processregional planningdevelopment planning

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • plannernounPerson or profession

    A person who makes plans.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • planning boardnounCompound term

    A board appointed to advise the chief administrator.

  • planning commissionnounCompound term

    A commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments.

  • city planningnounCompound term

    Determining and drawing up plans for the future physical arrangement and condition of a community.

  • family planningnounCompound term

    Limiting the number of children born.

  • natural family planningnounCompound term

    Any of several methods of family planning that do not involve sterilization or contraceptive devices or drugs.

  • ovulation method of family planningnounCompound term

    Natural family planning in which the fertile period is inferred from changes in the character and quantity of cervical mucus.

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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.