the faculty of contriving; inventive skill; "his skillful contrivance of answers to every problem"
an artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived arrangement of details or parts etc.; "the plot contained too many improbable contrivances to be believable"
an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off the track"
without deviation; "the path leads directly to the lake"; "went direct to the office"
in a forthright manner; candidly or frankly; "he didn't answer directly"; "told me straight out"; "came out flat for less work and more pay"
without anyone or anything intervening; "these two factors are directly related"; "he was directly responsible"; "measured the physical properties directly"
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal); "they concocted a plot to discredit the governor"; "I saw through his little game from the start"
the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.; "the characters were well drawn but the plot was banal"
a chart or map showing the movements or progress of an object
a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation; "a bean plot"; "a cabbage patch"; "a briar patch"
plan secretly, usually something illegal; "They plotted the overthrow of the government"
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time; "early morning"; "an early warning"; "early diagnosis"; "an early death"; "took early retirement"; "an early spring"; "early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties"
being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
of an early stage in the development of a language or literature; "the Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C."; "Early Modern English is represented in documents printed from 1476 to 1700"
very young; "at an early age"
expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the negotiations"
before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"
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"
a decorative or artistic work; "the coach had a design on the doors"
a preliminary sketch indicating the plan for something; "the design of a building"
an arrangement scheme; "the awkward design of the keyboard made operation difficult"; "it was an excellent design for living"; "a plan for seating guests"
intend or have as a purpose; "She designed to go far in the world of business"
design something for a specific role or purpose or effect; "This room is not designed for work"
conceive or fashion in the mind; invent; "She designed a good excuse for not attending classes that day"
make a design of; plan out in systematic, often graphic form; "design a better mousetrap"; "plan the new wing of the museum"
create the design for; create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner; "Chanel designed the famous suit"
create designs; "Dupont designs for the house of Chanel"
a line or route along which something travels or moves; "the hurricane demolished houses in its path"; "the track of an animal"; "the course of the river"