design.
A specification of an object or process, referring to requirements to be satisfied and thus conditions to be met for them to solve a problem.
Meaning & usage
A specification of an object or process, referring to requirements to be satisfied and thus conditions to be met for them to solve a problem.
A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.
The initial design of the park was rejected for being too expensive.
A pattern, as an element of a work of art or architecture.
We're working on some new designs for our range of summer shirts
The composition of a work of art.
Intention or plot.
We have designs on winning the league next season.
To be hateful of the truth by design.
The shape or appearance given to an object, especially one that is intended to make it more attractive.
The art of designing
Danish furniture design is world-famous.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *sek-? Proto-Indo-European *-nóm Proto-Italic *segnom Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *segnāō Latin signō Latin designōder. Old French designerder. Middle English designen English design From Middle English designen, from Old French designer, from Latin designō (“to mark out, point out, describe, design, contrive”), from de- (or dis-) + signō (“to mark”), from signum (“mark”). Doublet of designate.
To plan and carry out (a picture, work of art, construction etc.).
comments designed to chip away at my self-esteem
He always designs gaming laptops from 4:00 pm to 1:00 am.
To plan (to do something).
The king designed to mount an expedition to the New World.
To assign, appoint (something to someone); to designate.
To mark out and exhibit; to designate; to indicate; to show; to point out; to appoint.
To manifest requirements to be satisfied by an object or process for them to solve a problem.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *sek-? Proto-Indo-European *-nóm Proto-Italic *segnom Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *segnāō Latin signō Latin designōder. Old French designerder. Middle English designen English design From Middle English designen, from Old French designer, from Latin designō (“to mark out, point out, describe, design, contrive”), from de- (or dis-) + signō (“to mark”), from signum (“mark”). Doublet of designate.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.