What does design mean?

Definitions for design
dɪˈzaɪnde·sign

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word design.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. design, designingnoun

    the act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan)

    "he contributed to the design of a new instrument"

  2. design, plannoun

    an arrangement scheme

    "the awkward design of the keyboard made operation difficult"; "it was an excellent design for living"; "a plan for seating guests"

  3. blueprint, design, patternnoun

    something intended as a guide for making something else

    "a blueprint for a house"; "a pattern for a skirt"

  4. design, pattern, figurenoun

    a decorative or artistic work

    "the coach had a design on the doors"

  5. purpose, intent, intention, aim, designnoun

    an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions

    "his intent was to provide a new translation"; "good intentions are not enough"; "it was created with the conscious aim of answering immediate needs"; "he made no secret of his designs"

  6. designnoun

    a preliminary sketch indicating the plan for something

    "the design of a building"

  7. invention, innovation, excogitation, conception, designverb

    the creation of something in the mind

  8. plan, project, contrive, designverb

    make or work out a plan for; devise

    "They contrived to murder their boss"; "design a new sales strategy"; "plan an attack"

  9. designverb

    plan something for a specific role or purpose or effect

    "This room is not designed for work"

  10. designverb

    create the design for; create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner

    "Chanel designed the famous suit"

  11. design, planverb

    make a design of; plan out in systematic, often graphic form

    "design a better mousetrap"; "plan the new wing of the museum"

  12. designverb

    create designs

    "Dupont designs for the house of Chanel"

  13. designverb

    conceive or fashion in the mind; invent

    "She designed a good excuse for not attending classes that day"

  14. designverb

    intend or have as a purpose

    "She designed to go far in the world of business"

Wiktionary

  1. designnoun

    A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.

  2. designnoun

    A pattern, as an element of a work of art or architecture.

  3. designnoun

    The composition of a work of art.

  4. designnoun

    Intention or plot.

  5. designnoun

    The shape or appearance given to an object, especially one that is intended to make it more attractive.

  6. designnoun

    The art of designing

    Danish design of furniture is world-famous.

  7. designverb

    To assign, appoint (something to someone); to designate.

  8. designverb

    To plan and carry out (a picture, work of art, construction etc.).

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Designnoun

    Etymology: from the verb.

    Is he a prudent man, as to his temporal estate, that lays designs only for a day, without any prospect to the remaining part of his life? John Tillotson, Sermon i.

    A sedate settled design upon another man’s life, put him in a state of war with him against whom he has declared such an intention. John Locke.

    I doubt not but in the designs of several Greek medals one may often see the hand of an Apelles or Protogenes. Addison.

    Thy hand strikes out some new design,
    Where life awakes and dawns at every line. Alexander Pope, Epistles.

  2. To DESIGNverb

    Etymology: designo, Latin; dessiner, French.

    The acts of religious worship were purposely designed for the acknowledgment of a being, whom the most excellent creatures are bound to adore as well as we. Edward Stillingfleet.

    You are not for obscurity design’d,
    But, like the sun, must cheer all human kind. Dryden.

    One of those places was designed by the old man to his son. Edward Hyde.

    He was born to the inheritance of a splendid fortune; he was designed to the study of the law. Dryden.

    We are to observe whether it be well drawn, or, as more elegant artizans term it, well designed; then, whether it be well coloured, which be the two general heads. Henry Wotton.

    Thus while they speed their pace, the prince designs
    The new elected seat, and draws the lines. John Dryden, Æn.

    ’Tis not enough to make a man a subject, to convince him that there is regal power in the world; but there must be ways of designing and knowing the person to whom this regal power of right belongs. John Locke.

Wikipedia

  1. Design

    A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb to design expresses the process of developing a design. In some cases, the direct construction of an object without an explicit prior plan (such as in craftwork, some engineering, coding, and graphic design) may also be considered to be a design activity. The design usually has to satisfy certain goals and constraints; may take into account aesthetic, functional, economic, or socio-political considerations; and is expected to interact with a certain environment. Typical examples of designs include architectural and engineering drawings, circuit diagrams, sewing patterns and less tangible artefacts such as business process models.

ChatGPT

  1. design

    Design refers to the intentional creation and arrangement of elements to achieve a specific purpose or outcome. It involves thoughtful planning, problem-solving, and creative decision-making to create objects, systems, or experiences that are visually appealing, functional, and user-friendly. Design can be applied to various fields such as graphic design, industrial design, interior design, fashion design, and web design, among others.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Designnoun

    to draw preliminary outline or main features of; to sketch for a pattern or model; to delineate; to trace out; to draw

  2. Designnoun

    to mark out and exhibit; to designate; to indicate; to show; to point out; to appoint

  3. Designnoun

    to create or produce, as a work of art; to form a plan or scheme of; to form in idea; to invent; to project; to lay out in the mind; as, a man designs an essay, a poem, a statue, or a cathedral

  4. Designnoun

    to intend or purpose; -- usually with for before the remote object, but sometimes with to

  5. Designverb

    to form a design or designs; to plan

  6. Designnoun

    a preliminary sketch; an outline or pattern of the main features of something to be executed, as of a picture, a building, or a decoration; a delineation; a plan

  7. Designnoun

    a plan or scheme formed in the mind of something to be done; preliminary conception; idea intended to be expressed in a visible form or carried into action; intention; purpose; -- often used in a bad sense for evil intention or purpose; scheme; plot

  8. Designnoun

    specifically, intention or purpose as revealed or inferred from the adaptation of means to an end; as, the argument from design

  9. Designnoun

    the realization of an inventive or decorative plan; esp., a work of decorative art considered as a new creation; conception or plan shown in completed work; as, this carved panel is a fine design, or of a fine design

  10. Designnoun

    the invention and conduct of the subject; the disposition of every part, and the general order of the whole

Wikidata

  1. Design

    Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system. Design has different connotations in different fields. In some cases the direct construction of an object is also considered to be design. More formally design has been defined as follows. Another definition for design is a roadmap or a strategic approach for someone to achieve a unique expectation. It defines the specifications, plans, parameters, costs, activities, processes and how and what to do within legal, political, social, environmental, safety and economic constraints in achieving that objective. Here, a "specification" can be manifested as either a plan or a finished product, and "primitives" are the elements from which the design object is composed. With such a broad denotation, there is no universal language or unifying institution for designers of all disciplines. This allows for many differing philosophies and approaches toward the subject.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Design

    de-zīn′, or de-sīn′, v.t. to draw: to form a plan of: to contrive: to intend.—n. a drawing or sketch: a plan in outline: a plan or scheme formed in the mind: plot: intention.—adj. Design′able.—v.t. Des′ignāte, to mark out so as to make known: to show: to name.—ns. Designā′tion, a showing or pointing out: name: title; Des′ignātor.—adv. Design′edly, by design: intentionally.—n. Design′er, one who furnishes designs or patterns: a plotter.—adjs. Design′ful, full of design; Design′ing, artful: scheming: deceitful.—n. the art of making designs or patterns.—adj. Design′less.—n. Design′ment, the design or sketch of a work: (Shak.) intention, purpose, enterprise.—The argument from design, the argument for the existence of God derived from the evidences of design in creation. [Fr.,—L. designāre, -ātumde, and signum, a mark.]

Editors Contribution

  1. designnoun

    One's imagination completely displayed a statuary instrument for Guinea. 1.) A plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or working of a building, garment, or other object before it is built or made.

    My sacred design is never for sale.

    Etymology: Style


    Submitted by Tehorah_Elyon on April 4, 2024  


  2. design

    To create with our imagination, soul, spirit, subconscious, conscience, consciousness, brain and mind.

    She loves to design things with all facet.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 16, 2020  

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'design' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #803

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'design' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1857

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'design' in Nouns Frequency: #275

  4. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'design' in Verbs Frequency: #192

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Anagrams for design »

  1. deigns

  2. signed

  3. singed

How to pronounce design?

How to say design in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of design in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of design in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of design in a Sentence

  1. Sam Bompas:

    It gets to the point where if you choreograph the set design, expectation, uniforms, and rituals enough, it doesn't even matter what the food tastes like -- you can make anybody think something tastes nice.

  2. Jodie Foster:

    I am heartbroken to lose a friend, a mentor, a guy so singular and dynamic you'd have to design a hurricane to contain him, jonathan was as quirky as his comedies and as deep as his dramas. He was pure energy; the unstoppable cheerleader for anyone creative.

  3. Pulkit Agrawal:

    Humans design spaces around them, so having a humanlike robot is useful in those scenarios.

  4. Adam Grimm:

    So the money that the artist can expect to make is made from retaining the rights to the winning original painting design, and then, they can license that on products, they can make limited-edition prints and sell those. So that--it used to be worth in excess of a million dollars.

  5. Michael Li:

    Sometimes you can overthink these things, and you can design things like for a world that just doesn't exist anymore, because politics change.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

design#1#245#10000

Translations for design

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • تخطيط, تصميم, التصميمArabic
  • ниәтBashkir
  • дизайн, шарка, конструкция, намерение, проектирам, десен, план, композиция, замислямBulgarian
  • dissenyar, dissenyCatalan, Valencian
  • návrh, designCzech
  • designDanish
  • Design, Entwurf, designen, Muster, Absicht, entwerfen, PlanGerman
  • σχεδιάζω, σχέδιοGreek
  • desegniEsperanto
  • intención, diseño, diseñar, modeloSpanish
  • طراحی, دیزاینPersian
  • malli, design, muotoilu, juoni, muotoilla, suunnitelma, suunnitella, kuvio, sommittelu, kuosiFinnish
  • plan, modèle, dessein, intention, conception, designFrench
  • rùnScottish Gaelic
  • עיצובHebrew
  • डिजाईनHindi
  • tervez, tervezésHungarian
  • designarInterlingua
  • DesainIndonesian
  • hönnun, hannaIcelandic
  • design, disegno, progettareItalian
  • לְעַצֵבHebrew
  • デザイン, 意図, 設計, 模様Japanese
  • ವಿನ್ಯಾಸKannada
  • 디자인, 設計, 설계Korean
  • consiliumLatin
  • hoahoaMāori
  • disinn, iddisinnjaMaltese
  • dessin, vormgeving, ontwerpDutch
  • designNorwegian
  • naʼashchʼąąʼNavajo, Navaho
  • wzornictwo, plan, zamiar, wzór, motyw, krój, dizajn, kompozycja, projekt, zamysł, projektować, designPolish
  • intenção, desenho, projetar, projeto, design, desenharPortuguese
  • proiectaRomanian
  • конструкция, замысел, дизайн, композиция, умысел, узор, план, образец, внешний вид, модель, намерение, экстерьер, проектRussian
  • mustra, узорак, дизајн, нацрт, мустра, план, nakana, dizajn, plan, интенција, накана, intencija, uzorak, nacrtSerbo-Croatian
  • design, utforma, designaSwedish
  • வடிவமைப்புTamil
  • రూపకల్పనTelugu
  • kompozisyon, tasarım, niyet, tasarlamak, dizayn, desen, bileşimTurkish
  • ڈیزائنUrdu
  • thiết kếVietnamese
  • 设计Chinese

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"design." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/design>.

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