plant
plant — noun
- plantsingular
- plantsplural
1. any living thing — like a flower, vegetable, or small bush — that grows from soi
any living thing — like a flower, vegetable, or small bush — that grows from soil or water, normally has roots and green leaves, and cannot move from where it is.
Maya keeps a small spider plant on her bedroom windowsill.
countable noun: a [noun] / her [noun]
Tomato plants need plenty of sunlight and warm soil to grow well.
plural: [noun] need [conditions]
The garden was full of green plants and bright yellow flowers.
Don't forget to water the plants while I'm away in Tainan.
common collocation: water the plants
Some plants can live for hundreds of years in cold mountain regions.
- water the plants
- indoor plant
- potted plant
- house plant
- flower
only the flowering kind, often grown for beauty
- vegetation
uncountable; refers to plants in an area collectively
- herb
small soft-stemmed plant, often used for cooking or medicine
Usage Note
Used very broadly for any non-animal living organism that grows in one place. Often contrasted in everyday speech with 'tree' even though trees are technically plants too.
Common Mistakes
2. all of a company's large industrial machinery, considered together as one mass o
all of a company's large industrial machinery, considered together as one mass of business assets rather than as individual items.
The factory has invested heavily in new plant over the past three years.
uncountable: invest in new plant (no plural -s)
Maintenance of plant and equipment costs the brewery about ten million dollars yearly.
fixed pairing: plant and equipment
The accountant lists buildings, vehicles, and plant as separate categories on the balance sheet.
Older plant in the textile mill was replaced with computer-controlled looms last summer.
- plant and equipment
- invest in plant
- plant maintenance
- capital plant
Usage Note
Mass noun — never takes a plural -s in this sense, even when several machines are meant. Most common in accounting, engineering, and business contexts; rare in everyday conversation.
Common Mistakes
3. a building or group of buildings where one specific kind of thing is made, or wh
a building or group of buildings where one specific kind of thing is made, or where energy such as electricity is generated.
Toyota is opening a new car plant near Kaohsiung next year.
common compound: car plant / chemical plant
The nuclear power plant in Fukushima was damaged by the 2011 tsunami.
compound: power plant / nuclear plant
Workers at the chemical plant went on strike for higher wages last week.
The bottling plant can fill up to ten thousand bottles every hour.
Local residents protested against plans to build a waste treatment plant nearby.
- power plant
- nuclear plant
- manufacturing plant
- treatment plant
Usage Note
Almost always appears as a compound: 'power plant', 'car plant', 'chemical plant', 'bottling plant'. The first word names what is made or generated there.
Common Mistakes
4. the very large vehicles and machines, such as bulldozers, cranes, and diggers, t
the very large vehicles and machines, such as bulldozers, cranes, and diggers, that are used on building sites or by farms for heavy outdoor work.
Heavy plant is moving slowly along the motorway, so expect long delays.
uncountable; common warning sign wording
The construction firm rents most of its plant rather than buying it outright.
verb pattern: rent / hire plant
Roadside signs warn drivers about heavy plant crossing into the field.
fixed phrase: heavy plant crossing
Farm plant such as combine harvesters can cost over half a million pounds.
- heavy plant
- plant hire
- construction plant
- plant operator
Usage Note
Mainly British English; in American English, 'heavy equipment' or 'heavy machinery' is preferred. Often appears in compounds like 'plant hire' (machine rental) and on warning signs.
Common Mistakes
5. an item, often drugs or a weapon, that someone has hidden among another person's
an item, often drugs or a weapon, that someone has hidden among another person's belongings on purpose so that the police will think that person committed a crime.
Marcus insisted the cocaine in his suitcase was a plant by his ex-wife.
common pattern: be a plant (by [person])
Defence lawyers argued the gun in the locker was clearly a plant.
Villagers suspected the stolen jewels were a plant by a rival shop owner.
The journalist proved the document was a plant designed to ruin the senator's career.
- claim something is a plant
- drugs were a plant
- obvious plant
Usage Note
Almost always singular and used with the verb 'be' — 'it was a plant', 'the drugs are a plant'. Carries a strong claim of being framed, not just accused.
Common Mistakes
6. a person who is sent in secret to join a group, work somewhere, or sit in an aud
a person who is sent in secret to join a group, work somewhere, or sit in an audience so that they can pass back information or pretend to react as a real member would.
It turned out that one of the gang members was a police plant all along.
common pattern: a police plant / a company plant
Lina realised her cheerful coworker was actually a plant from head office.
Several plants in the audience laughed loudly at every weak joke.
plural use: plants in the audience
The journalist suspected at least two plants were spreading rumours inside the union.
- police plant
- company plant
- audience plant
Usage Note
Often modified by the organisation behind the person — 'a police plant', 'a CIA plant', 'a company plant'. Distinguish from sense 5 (where 'plant' is an object, not a person).
Common Mistakes
plant — verb
- plantpresent simple I / you / we / they
- plants3rd person singular
- planting-ing form
- plantedpast simple
1. to place a seed, young plant, or bulb under the surface of soil or compost so th
to place a seed, young plant, or bulb under the surface of soil or compost so that it can take root and start growing.
Grandma planted three rose bushes along the front fence on Saturday.
plant + [number] + [plant type] + along [place]
Children at the school planted tomato seeds in small paper cups.
plant + seeds + in + [container]
It's best to plant tulip bulbs in October before the ground freezes.
plant + bulbs + in + [month]
Carlos planted a young lemon tree in the corner of his backyard.
The villagers have planted thousands of saplings on the bare hillside.
- plant a tree
- plant seeds
- plant bulbs
- plant a garden
- sow
used mainly for scattering seeds, not for young trees or bulbs
- transplant
move an already-growing plant from one place to another
Grammar Patterns
plant + noun (seed/plant)
plant + noun + in/on + place
Usage Note
Object is normally what goes into the ground (seeds, bulbs, a tree, a bush). Sense 2 covers the case where the object is the area being filled with plants instead.
Common Mistakes
2. to fill a piece of ground — such as a field, garden, or roadside — by putting ma
to fill a piece of ground — such as a field, garden, or roadside — by putting many seeds or young plants into it, often of one specific crop.
The farmer plants this field with corn every spring after the rains.
plant + [field] + with + [crop]
Volunteers are planting the empty schoolyard with native flowers and shrubs.
Most of the hillside has been planted with young pine trees since the fire.
passive: be planted with [crop]
The Wang family planted their backyard with tea bushes and lemongrass.
- plant a field
- plant the garden
- be planted with
- newly planted area
- clear
remove all plants from a piece of land
Grammar Patterns
plant + place
plant + place + with + crop
Usage Note
Object here is the place, not the plant — contrast with sense 1. The crop usually appears in a 'with' phrase: 'plant a field with rice'. Frequently passive.
Common Mistakes
3. to put something — often a foot, a hand, or a kiss — onto a surface or person in
to put something — often a foot, a hand, or a kiss — onto a surface or person in one strong, decisive movement that stays where it lands.
Sarah planted a quick kiss on her grandfather's cheek before leaving for school.
fixed collocation: plant a kiss on someone's cheek/lips
The boxer planted his feet wide and waited for the next punch.
plant + feet + [adverb of position]
Marcus planted both elbows on the table and stared at the menu.
plant + body part + on + surface
The hiker planted her walking pole firmly into the soft mud.
Hiro planted the flag at the summit just as the sun rose.
- plant a kiss
- plant your feet
- plant a flag
- plant your elbows
- lift
raise something away from the surface it was on
Grammar Patterns
plant + body part + on/in + place
plant + something + on + person
Usage Note
Almost always followed by an adverb or preposition that says where the thing lands ('on her cheek', 'in the mud', 'wide apart'). Suggests a single firm motion, not a slow placement.
Common Mistakes
4. to make an idea, doubt, suspicion, or rumour begin to live in someone's mind, us
to make an idea, doubt, suspicion, or rumour begin to live in someone's mind, usually so that it grows and changes how they think later on.
The teacher's question planted a seed of doubt in Lina's mind about her answer.
fixed collocation: plant a seed of doubt
Old movies planted the idea in Marcus that he should become a pilot.
plant + the idea + in + [person]
Rumours planted by his rivals slowly destroyed the senator's reputation in the capital.
passive: be planted by [agent]
Her grandmother planted a love of reading in her at a very young age.
The novel plants the suspicion early on that the butler is hiding something.
- plant a seed of doubt
- plant an idea
- plant a suspicion
- plant a thought
- dispel
make a doubt or fear disappear from someone's mind
Grammar Patterns
plant + [idea/doubt/seed] + in + someone's mind/head
Usage Note
Object is usually an abstract noun: idea, doubt, seed, suspicion, fear, hope. Almost always followed by 'in' plus the person or their mind.
Common Mistakes
5. to hide something illegal, such as drugs or a weapon, on a person or in their be
to hide something illegal, such as drugs or a weapon, on a person or in their belongings without them knowing, so that they will be blamed for a crime; also to put a person somewhere in secret to spy.
The defence claimed officers had planted heroin in the suspect's car during the search.
plant + [illegal item] + in + [place]
Marcus swore that someone had planted the stolen watch on him at the party.
plant + [item] + on + [person]
The newspaper planted a young reporter inside the cult to gather evidence.
plant + [person] + inside + [group]
Rival companies sometimes plant employees to learn each other's trade secrets.
Detectives believed the murder weapon had been planted to mislead them.
- plant evidence
- plant drugs on someone
- plant a spy
- plant a mole
- frame
make an innocent person look guilty; describes the whole act, not just hiding the item
- infiltrate
for spies — describes the spy entering, not the act of placing them
Grammar Patterns
plant + [item] + on + person
plant + [item] + in + place
Usage Note
Two main patterns: 'plant [object] on/in [place or person]' for fake evidence, and 'plant [person] in/inside [group]' for spies. Often passive when the speaker is making an accusation.
Common Mistakes
6. to hide an explosive device in a chosen location, timed to detonate later and ca
to hide an explosive device in a chosen location, timed to detonate later and cause damage or kill people nearby.
Police believe the attackers planted the bomb under a parked van overnight.
plant + [bomb] + under + [place]
A small device had been planted inside the rubbish bin near the entrance.
passive: be planted inside [place]
The terrorists planted three bombs along the railway line that morning.
Soldiers carefully removed the explosives that rebels had planted near the bridge.
Investigators are trying to learn who planted the device in the embassy garden.
- plant a bomb
- plant explosives
- plant a device
- bomb planted in
- defuse
make a bomb safe so it cannot explode
Grammar Patterns
plant + [bomb/explosive] + in/under/on + place
Usage Note
Object is almost always a bomb, device, or explosive. Frequently passive in news reports: 'a bomb was planted in...'. Distinguish from sense 5 (illegal items to frame someone) — sense 6 is specifically about explosives.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- planternounB2
- plantingnounB1
- plantationnounB2
- replantverbB2
- transplantverbB2
- implantverbC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
All four verbs describe putting something into soil so that it grows, but each fits a different stage. 'Plant' is the everyday choice and works for almost anything you push into the ground — a seed, a bulb, a sapling, or a fully grown tree being moved. 'Sow' is narrower and is used mainly for scattering seeds across a wide area, especially grain or grass; you sow wheat, but you plant a tree. 'Transplant' specifically means moving an already-growing plant from one spot to another — a tomato seedling from a tray into the garden, or a tree from one yard to a new one. 'Cultivate' is the broadest of all: it covers preparing the soil, planting, watering, weeding, and caring for the crop right through to harvest. So a farmer might cultivate a hectare of land on which she has sown rice and planted a few fruit trees, then transplanted the strongest seedlings into a new row.
Common collocations
Etymology
From the Latin noun 'planta', meaning the sole of the foot or a young shoot pressed into the ground with the foot. The word entered Old English as 'plante' for a young growing thing, then came back into Middle English with extra meanings borrowed from Old French 'plante'. The 'factory' and 'machinery' meanings developed much later, in the 18th and 19th centuries, when industrial English began describing the equipment that was 'planted' or set up at a worksite. The 'frame someone' and 'spy' senses are 19th- and 20th-century slang extensions of the basic idea of putting something or someone in a hidden place.