5 → see also sub-plot
6 N‑COUNT A plot of land is a small piece of land, especially one that has been measured or marked out for a special purpose, such as building houses or growing vegetables. □ The bottom of the garden was given over to vegetable plots.
7 VERB When someone plots something on a graph, they mark certain points on it and then join the points up. □ [V n] We plot about eight points on the graph.
8 VERB When someone plots the position or course of a plane or ship, they mark it on a map using instruments to obtain accurate information. □ [V n] We were trying to plot the course of the submarine.
9 VERB If someone plots the progress or development of something, they make a diagram or a plan which shows how it has developed in order to give some indication of how it will develop in the future. □ [V n] They used a computer to plot the movements of everyone in the building.
10 PHRASE If someone loses the plot , they become confused and do not know what they should do. [INFORMAL ] □ The Tories have lost the plot on law and order.
plot|line /plɒ tla I n/ (plotlines ) N‑COUNT The plotline of a book, film, or play is its plot and the way in which it develops. □ The plotline revolved around the fall of Chas, a minor London gangster.
plot|ter /plɒ tə r / (plotters )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl] A plotter is a person who secretly plans with others to do something that is illegal or wrong, usually against a person or government. □ Coup plotters tried to seize power in Moscow.
2 N‑COUNT A plotter is a person or instrument that marks the position of something such as a ship on a map or chart.
plough /plaʊ / (ploughs , ploughing , ploughed ) in AM, use plow 1 N‑COUNT A plough is a large farming tool with sharp blades which is pulled across the soil to turn it over, usually before seeds are planted.
2 → see also snowplough
3 VERB When someone ploughs an area of land, they turn over the soil using a plough. □ [V n] They ploughed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. □ [V -ed] …a carefully ploughed field. ● plough|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ There is plenty of land around that needs ploughing.
4 to plough a furrow → see furrow
▸ plough back PHRASAL VERB [usu passive] If profits are ploughed back into a business, they are used to increase the size of the business or to improve it. [BUSINESS ] □ [be V -ed P + into ] About 70 per cent of its profits are being ploughed back into the investment programme.
▸ plough into
1 PHRASAL VERB If something, for example a car, ploughs into something else, it goes out of control and crashes violently into it. □ [V P n] A young girl was seriously hurt when a car ploughed into her on a crossing.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you say that money is ploughed into something such as a business or a service, you are emphasizing that the amount of money which is invested in it or spent on it in order to improve it is very large. [BUSINESS , EMPHASIS ] □ [be V -ed P n/v-ing] Huge sums of private capital will be ploughed into the ailing industries of the east. □ [V n P n/v-ing] He claimed he ploughed all his money into his antique business.
▸ plough up PHRASAL VERB If someone ploughs up an area of land, they plough it, usually in order to turn it into land used for growing crops. □ [V P n] It would pay farmers to plough up the scrub and plant wheat.
plough|man /plaʊ mən/ (ploughmen ) N‑COUNT A ploughman is a man whose job it is to plough the land, especially with a plough pulled by horses or oxen.
plou gh|man's lu nch (ploughman's lunches ) N‑COUNT A ploughman's lunch or a ploughman's is a meal consisting of bread, cheese, salad, and pickle, usually eaten in a pub. [BRIT ]
plough|share /plaʊ ʃeə r / (ploughshares ) in AM, use plowshare PHRASE If you say that swords have been turned into ploughshares or beaten into ploughshares , you mean that a state of conflict between two or more groups of people has ended and a period of peace has begun. [JOURNALISM ]
plov|er /plʌ və r / (plovers ) N‑COUNT A plover is a bird with a rounded body, a short tail, and a short beak that is found by the sea or by lakes.
plow /plaʊ / (plows , plowing , plowed ) → see plough
plow|share /plaʊ ʃeə r / (plowshares ) → see ploughshare
ploy /plɔ I / (ploys ) N‑COUNT [oft adj N , N to-inf] A ploy is a way of behaving that someone plans carefully and secretly in order to gain an advantage for themselves. □ Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder, not a cynical marketing ploy. [Also + of ]
pls Pls is a written abbreviation for please . □ Have you moved yet? Pls advise address, phone no.
pluck /plʌ k/ (plucks , plucking , plucked )
1 VERB If you pluck a fruit, flower, or leaf, you take it between your fingers and pull it in order to remove it from its stalk where it is growing. [WRITTEN ] □ [V n + from ] I plucked a lemon from the tree. □ [V n] He plucked a stalk of dried fennel.
2 VERB If you pluck something from somewhere, you take it between your fingers and pull it sharply from where it is. [WRITTEN ] □ [V n from n] Jill rose, plucking bits of straw from her clothes.
3 VERB If you pluck a guitar or other musical instrument, you pull the strings with your fingers and let them go, so that they make a sound. □ [V n] Nell was plucking a harp.