plane

Adjective

plane (comparative planer, superlative planest)

1. Of a surface: flat or level.

Noun

plane (plural planes)

1. A level or flat surface.
3. (geometry) A flat surface extending infinitely in all directions (e.g. horizontal or vertical plane); a bounded portion thereof.
   • 1979 August, Graham Burtenshaw, Michael S. Welch, “O.V.S. Bulleid's SR loco-hauled coaches - 1”, in Railway World, page 396:

     Mirrors in the compartments have been canted out of the vertical plane to reduce reflections to the passengers when seated.

   1. (anatomy) An imaginary plane which divides the body into two portions.
4. A level of existence or development.
   • 1982 December 4, Catherine Joseph, “Empowered into Enlightenment”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 20, page 8:

     Nettie's stories about her experiences in Africa point out many parallels between the African and American ways of life. Her stories about the African lifestyle and family structure, in particular, point out the sexist and oppressive conditions that women are forced to submit to on a global plane.

   astral plane

5. A roughly flat, thin, often moveable structure used to create lateral force by the flow of air or water over its surface, found on aircraft, submarines, etc.

   Hyponyms: airfoil, hydrofoil, wing, foreplane, canard, tailplane, stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer

6. (computing, Unicode) Any of 17 designated ranges of 2¹⁶ (65,536) sequential code points each.

Noun

plane (plural planes)

2. (countable, carpentry) A tool for smoothing wood by removing thin layers from the surface.

Verb

plane (third-person singular simple present planes, present participle planing, simple past and past participle planed)

1. (transitive, carpentry) To smooth (wood) with a plane.

Alternative forms

• 'plane (dated)

Noun

plane (plural planes)

2. (aircraft) An airplane; an aeroplane.
   • 2013 September 6, Tom Cheshire, “Solar-powered travel”, in The Guardian Weekly‎, volume 189, number 13, page 34:

     The plane is travelling impossibly slowly – 30km an hour – when it gently noses up and leaves the ground. With air beneath them, the rangy wings seem to gain strength; the fuselage that on the ground seemed flimsy becomes elegant, like a crane vaunting in flight. It seems not to fly, though, so much as float.

3. (entomology) Any of various nymphalid butterflies, of various genera, having a slow gliding flight.

   Synonym: aeroplane

4. (entomology) The butterfly Bindahara phocides, family Lycaenidae, of Asia and Australasia.

Verb

plane (third-person singular simple present planes, present participle planing, simple past and past participle planed)

1. (nautical, of a boat) To move in a way that lifts the bow out of the water.
2. To glide or soar.

Noun

plane (plural planes)

2. (countable) A deciduous tree of the genus Platanus.
3. (Northern UK) A sycamore.

Related terms

• plānus

Descendants

• → Hungarian: pláne