plaid /plæ d/ (plaids ) N‑VAR [oft N n] Plaid is material with a check design on it. Plaid is also the design itself. □ Eddie wore blue jeans and a plaid shirt.
plain ◆◇◇ /ple I n/ (plainer , plainest , plains )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A plain object, surface, or fabric is entirely in one colour and has no pattern, design, or writing on it. □ In general, a plain carpet makes a room look bigger. □ He wore a plain blue shirt, open at the collar.
2 ADJ Something that is plain is very simple in style. □ Bronwen's dress was plain but it hung well on her. ● plain|ly ADV [ADV -ed] □ He was very tall and plainly dressed.
3 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If a fact, situation, or statement is plain , it is easy to recognize or understand. □ It was plain to him that I was having a nervous breakdown. □ He's made it plain that he loves the game and wants to be involved still.
4 → see also plain-spoken
5 ADJ If you describe someone as plain , you think they look ordinary and not at all beautiful. □ …a shy, rather plain girl with a pale complexion.
6 N‑COUNT A plain is a large flat area of land with very few trees on it. □ Once there were 70 million buffalo on the plains.
7 ADV [ADV adj] You can use plain before an adjective in order to emphasize it. [EMPHASIS ] □ The food was just plain terrible. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Plain is also used before a noun. □ Is it love of publicity or plain stupidity on her part?
8 PHRASE If a police officer is in plain clothes , he or she is wearing ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform. □ Three officers in plain clothes told me to get out of the car.
9 plain sailing → see sailing COLLOCATIONS plain NOUN 6
adjective + plain : alluvial; arid, barren, dusty; coastal; fertile; grassy; rolling
noun + plain : flood
plai n cho co|late N‑UNCOUNT Plain chocolate is dark-brown chocolate that has a stronger and less sweet taste than milk chocolate. [BRIT ] in AM, use dark chocolate
plai n-clo thes also plainclothes
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Plain-clothes police officers wear ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform. □ He was arrested by plain-clothes detectives as he walked through the customs hall.
2 in plain clothes → see plain
plai n flou r N‑UNCOUNT Plain flour is flour that does not make cakes and biscuits rise when they are cooked because it has no chemicals added to it. [BRIT ] in AM, use all-purpose flour
plain|ly /ple I nli/
1 ADV You use plainly to indicate that you believe something is obviously true, often when you are trying to convince someone else that it is true. [EMPHASIS ] □ The judge's conclusion was plainly wrong. □ Plainly, a more objective method of description must be adopted.
2 ADV [ADV with v, ADV adj] You use plainly to indicate that something is easily seen, noticed, or recognized. □ He was plainly annoyed. □ I could plainly see him turning his head to the right and left.
3 → see also plain
plai n-spo ken also plainspoken ADJ If you say that someone is plain-spoken , you mean that they say exactly what they think, even when they know that what they say may not please other people. [APPROVAL ] □ …a plain-spoken man full of scorn for pomp and pretense.
plaint /ple I nt/ (plaints ) N‑COUNT A plaint is a complaint or a sad cry. [LITERARY ] □ …a forlorn, haunting plaint.
plain|tiff /ple I nt I f/ (plaintiffs ) N‑COUNT A plaintiff is a person who brings a legal case against someone in a court of law.
plain|tive /ple I nt I v/ ADJ A plaintive sound or voice sounds sad. [LITERARY ] □ They lay on the firm sands, listening to the plaintive cry of the seagulls. ● plain|tive|ly ADV [usu ADV with v, oft ADV adj] □ 'Why don't we do something?' Davis asked plaintively.
plait /plæ t, [AM ] ple I t/ (plaits , plaiting , plaited )
1 VERB If you plait three or more lengths of hair, rope, or other material together, you twist them over and under each other to make one thick length. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V n] Joanna parted her hair, and then began to plait it into two thick braids. □ [V -ed] …a plaited leather belt. in AM, usually use braid 2 N‑COUNT A plait is a length of hair that has been plaited [mainly BRIT ] in AM, usually use braid
plan ◆◆◆ /plæ n/ (plans , planning , planned )
1 N‑COUNT [oft according to N ] A plan is a method of achieving something that you have worked out in detail beforehand. □ The three leaders had worked out a peace plan. □ [+ of ] …a detailed plan of action for restructuring the group. □ He maintains that everything is going according to plan.
2 VERB If you plan what you are going to do, you decide in detail what you are going to do, and you intend to do it. □ [V wh] If you plan what you're going to eat, you reduce your chances of overeating. □ [V to-inf] He planned to leave Baghdad on Monday. □ [V + for ] It would be difficult for schools to plan for the future. □ [V n] I had been planning a trip to the West Coast. □ [V -ed] A planned demonstration has been called off by its organisers.