Definitions for plain
pleɪnplain

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. plain, field, champaign(noun)

   extensive tract of level open land

   "they emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain"; "he longed for the fields of his youth"

2. knit, knit stitch, plain, plain stitch(adj)

   a basic knitting stitch

3. apparent, evident, manifest, patent, plain, unmistakable(adj)

   clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment

   "the effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields"; "evident hostility"; "manifest disapproval"; "patent advantages"; "made his meaning plain"; "it is plain that he is no reactionary"; "in plain view"

4. plain(adj)

   not elaborate or elaborated; simple

   "plain food"; "stuck to the plain facts"; "a plain blue suit"; "a plain rectangular brick building"

5. plain, unpatterned(adj)

   lacking patterns especially in color

6. plain, sheer, unmingled, unmixed(adj)

   not mixed with extraneous elements

   "plain water"; "sheer wine"; "not an unmixed blessing"

7. plain, unvarnished(adj)

   free from any effort to soften to disguise

   "the plain and unvarnished truth"; "the unvarnished candor of old people and children"

8. plain, bare, spare, unembellished, unornamented(adj)

   lacking embellishment or ornamentation

   "a plain hair style"; "unembellished white walls"; "functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete"

9. homely, plain(verb)

   lacking in physical beauty or proportion

   "a homely child"; "several of the buildings were downright homely"; "a plain girl with a freckled face"

10. complain, kick, plain, sound off, quetch, kvetch(adverb)

    express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness

    "My mother complains all day"; "She has a lot to kick about"

11. obviously, evidently, manifestly, patently, apparently, plainly, plain(adverb)

    unmistakably (`plain' is often used informally for `plainly')

    "the answer is obviously wrong"; "she was in bed and evidently in great pain"; "he was manifestly too important to leave off the guest list"; "it is all patently nonsense"; "she has apparently been living here for some time"; "I thought he owned the property, but apparently not"; "You are plainly wrong"; "he is plain stubborn"

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Plain(verb)

   to lament; to bewail; to complain

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

2. Plain(verb)

   to lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

3. Plain

   without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

4. Plain

   open; clear; unencumbered; equal; fair

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

5. Plain

   not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear; unmistakable

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

6. Plain

   void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious embellishment; not rich; simple

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

7. Plain

   not highly cultivated; unsophisticated; free from show or pretension; simple; natural; homely; common

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

8. Plain

   free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere; artless; honest; frank

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

9. Plain

   not luxurious; not highly seasoned; simple; as, plain food

   Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

10. Plain

    without beauty; not handsome; homely; as, a plain woman

    Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

11. Plain

    not variegated, dyed, or figured; as, plain muslin

    Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

12. Plain

    not much varied by modulations; as, a plain tune

    Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

13. Plain(adverb)

    in a plain manner; plainly

    Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

14. Plain(adj)

    level land; usually, an open field or a broad stretch of land with an even surface, or a surface little varied by inequalities; as, the plain of Jordan; the American plains, or prairies

    Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

15. Plain(adj)

    a field of battle

    Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

16. Plain

    to plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface

    Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

17. Plain

    to make plain or manifest; to explain

    Etymology: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Plain

   In geography, a plain are fertile regions. They are vast and flat and are very conductive to habitation. For these reasons, the plains of the world have the highest density of population. Some of them have been cradles of famous civilizations. Large rivers and their tributaries that provide enough water for human and animal consumption usually drain plains. Plains occur as lowlands and at the bottoms of valleys but also on plateaus at high elevations. In a valley, a plain is enclosed on two sides but in other cases a plain may be delineated by a complete or partial ring of hills, by mountains or cliffs. Where a geological region contains more than one plain, they may be connected by a pass. Plains may have been formed from flowing lava, deposited by water, ice or wind, or formed by erosion by these agents from hills and mountains. Plains in many areas are important for agriculture because where the soils were deposited as sediments they may be deep and fertile, and the flatness facilitates mechanization of crop production; or because they support grasslands which provide good grazing for livestock.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Plain

   plān, v.t. and v.i. to complain: to lament.—ns. Plain′ant, one who complains: a plaintiff; Plain′ing (Shak.), complaint. [O. Fr. pleigner (Fr. plaindre)—L. plangĕre, to lament.]

2. Plain

   plān, adj. without elevations, even, flat: level, smooth, without obstructions: free from difficulties, easy, simple: without ornament or beauty, homely: artless: sincere: evident, unmistakable: mere: not coloured, figured, or variegated: not highly seasoned, natural, not cooked or dressed: not trumps at cards.—n. an extent of level land: an open field.—adv. clearly: distinctly.—v.t. (obs.) to make plain.—n.pl. Plain′-clothes, clothes worn by an officer when off duty or not in uniform.—ns. Plain′-cook, one able to cook all ordinary dishes; Plain′-deal′er, one who deals or speaks his mind plainly.—adj. Plain′-deal′ing, speaking or acting plainly, candid.—n. candid speaking or acting, sincerity.—adj. Plain′-heart′ed, having a plain or honest heart: sincere.—n. Plain′-heart′edness.—adv. Plain′ly.—ns. Plain′ness; Plain′-song, the music of a recitative-like character and sung in unison, used in the Christian Church of the West from the earliest times, and still in use in all R.C. churches: a simple air without variations: a plain unvarnished statement; Plain′-speak′ing, straight-forwardness or bluntness of speech.—adj. Plain′-spok′en, speaking with plain, rough sincerity.—n.pl. Plain′stanes (Scot.), flagstones, pavement.—n. Plain′work, plain needlework, as distinguished from embroidery.—Plain as a pikestaff, perfectly plain or clear. [Fr.,—L. plānus, plain.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. plain

   A term used in contradistinction to mountain, though far from implying a level surface, and it may be either elevated or low.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. plain

   A field of battle.

Etymology and Origins(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Plain

   The name given to the Girondist party on the floor of the French House of Assembly during the Revolution, as opposed to the “Mountain” party.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'plain' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3492

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'plain' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2790

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'plain' in Nouns Frequency: #2147

4. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'plain' in Adjectives Frequency: #453

Anagrams for plain »

1. Lapin

2. Lipan

How to pronounce plain?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say plain in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of plain in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of plain in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of plain in a Sentence

1. Justice Joseph Story:

   This provision (the 4th Amendment) speaks for itself. Its plain object is to secure the perfect enjoyment of that great right of the common law, that a man's house shall be his own castle, privileged against all civil and military intrusion.

2. James Mitchell:

   It's a bunch of hooey, some of the things are just plain not true.

3. Jerry Garcia:

   It's pretty clear now that what looked like it might have been some kind of counterculture is, in reality, just the plain old chaos of undifferentiated weirdness.

4. Rachel Stahl:

   Choose plain seltzer (its most natural form) and avoid any products with additives like added sugar or artificial sweeteners, for many, it fills the sought-after ‘fizzy fix’ without adding calories and sugar. It also is hydrating.

5. Grover Cleveland:

   It is the duty of those serving the people in public place closely to limit public expenditures to the actual needs of the government economically administered, because this bounds the right of the government to extract tribute from the earnings of labor or the property of the citizen, and because public extravagance begets extravagance among the people. We should never be ashamed of the simplicity and prudential economies which are best suited to the operation of a republican form of government and most compatible with the mission of the American people. Those who are selected for a limited time to manage public affairs are still of the people, and may do much by their example to encourage, consistently with the dignity of their official functions, that plain way of life which among their fellow-citizens aids integrity and promotes thrift and prosperity.

Images & Illustrations of plain

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