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to plane

to plane

1 3.6
To glide smoothly through the air while slowly coming down
  • verb
  • /pleɪn/
: planear
  • As the sailboat picked up speed, it planed across the water, barely touching the surface.

Examples

  • We can sustainably plane and fly out of here.

  • The glider planed gracefully over the landscape as it descended towards the runway.

  • With a gentle push from the wind, the small drone planed effortlessly through the blue sky.

Synonyms

to fly
vsto plane
816 1.0

Move through the air using wings or in a plane

describes a smoother often unpowered glide rather than active winged or powered movement
to sail
vsto plane
39 1.0

To move smoothly and easily through the air or over a surface

emphasizes an aircraft glide that keeps lift or descends with control
to wing
vsto plane
5 3.9

To move quickly through the air like a bird

refers instead to a controlled smooth glide while keeping or losing lift
to kite
vsto plane
1 6.4

To move or glide through the air like a light toy on a string

focuses on a controlled glide often while descending or staying aloft

Idioms

Make or improve something while people already use it, fixing problems as you go

Phrasal Verbs

to land the plane
  • Specialized
9 3.5

To bring a plane down safely at an airport

Compounds

65 1.0

A paper or online pass that lets you travel on an airplane

17 2.7

A fast plane that uses jet engines to fly high

A plane used by the armed forces for fighting or protection

9 9.9

A non-physical world people believe you can visit in dreams, meditation, or after death

reconnaissance plane
  • Specialized
4 6.5

A military plane that flies over areas to find out about the enemy

A plane with an engine that turns spinning blades

2 3.7

A small airplane used for private or hobby flying

1 6.1

A large tree with pale, peeling bark, broad leaves, and round seed balls that gives shade

orbital plane
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A flat path in space that a thing follows as it goes around a planet or star

tanker plane
  • Specialized
1 5.6

An airplane that drops water or chemicals to fight forest fires

picture plane
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A flat imagined surface in a picture that seems closest to the viewer

complex plane
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A flat surface for showing numbers that have a real part and an imaginary part as points

inclined plane
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A flat sloping surface that helps move heavy things up or down

1 1.1

A place where a passenger sits on an airplane

plane geometry
  • Specialized
1 3.8

The study of flat shapes like lines, circles, and shapes with many sides

rabbet plane
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A hand tool that cuts a long groove along the edge of wood

jack plane
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A hand tool with a long flat bottom for smoothing and shaping wood before finishing

A plane powered by jet engines that flies very fast

1 5.8

A large fast-growing tree with bark that peels, planted along city streets because it tolerates pollution

A plane that has one propeller to make it fly

tangent plane
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A flat surface that just touches a curved surface at one point

block plane
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A small hand tool for smoothing and trimming the ends of wood

plane figure
  • Specialized
1 3.1

A flat shape like a circle or square

plane angle
  • Specialized
1 4.6

The space between two straight lines that meet on the same flat surface

1 6.7

An airplane with skis that lands and takes off on snow or ice

A hand tool with an adjustable blade used to smooth or shape wood

plane-polarized
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A wave, especially light, that vibrates in only one direction

plane section
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A flat shape made when a flat surface cuts through a solid object

plane table
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A drawing board with a ruler on a tripod for mapping land features

1 6.8

A plane with floats that lets it land and take off from water

1 2.8

A tool with a flat blade that makes thin even slices of semi-hard or hard cheese

Cartesian plane
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A flat area with two crossing lines used to show points by x and y numbers

A plane with two propellers that flies short distances

router plane
  • Specialized
1 9.7

A tool for making narrow grooves with smooth flat bottoms in wood

smooth plane
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A small hand tool that makes wood surfaces smooth

smoothing plane
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A small hand tool that makes wood surfaces even and fine

circular plane
  • Specialized
1 9.0

A woodworking tool with a curved, flexible base for shaping rounded wood

long plane
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A long hand tool that smooths and flattens the edges of boards for a tight fit

multiengine plane
  • Specialized
1 3.3

An airplane with two or more engines

beading plane
  • Specialized
9.9

A hand tool with a curved blade that cuts small rounded shapes along wood edges

bullnosed plane
  • Specialized
9.8

A small woodworking tool with its blade near the front for smoothing wood close to corners

chamfer plane
  • Specialized
9.7

A hand tool for cutting a sloping edge on wood

compass plane
  • Specialized
9.9

A hand tool with a flexible bottom for smoothing inside and outside curves in wood

9.3

A woodworking tool with changeable blades that cuts grooves and shapes wood

dado plane
  • Specialized
9.9

A small hand tool that cuts a straight groove across a wooden board

5.3

A plane with two propellers that spin in opposite directions to make it fly more steadily

dovetail plane
  • Specialized
9.6

A tool for cutting angled grooves that join two pieces of wood together

A very large tree with broad branches and peeling bark from eastern and central North America

facet plane
  • Specialized
7.7

A flat surface on a solid object that forms one face, like a cube or crystal

fore plane
  • Specialized
9.9

A long hand tool with a blade used to flatten rough boards before final smoothing

match plane
  • Specialized
9.9

A hand tool that cuts tongues and grooves in board edges so they fit together

jointer plane
  • Specialized
8.8

A long tool carpenters use to make board edges straight

jointing plane
  • Specialized
8.4

A long flat tool for making board edges straight and smooth so they fit together

openside plane
  • Specialized
9.9

A woodworking tool for cutting a long groove along a board edge that has one open side

oriental plane
  • Specialized
7.7

A large tree with broad leaves and patchy bark from southern Europe and western Asia

plane-tree family
  • Specialized
7.7

A family of trees with large leaves and patchy bark often planted in parks for shade

scrub plane
  • Specialized
8.4

A narrow heavy tool that quickly removes lots of rough wood

9.9

A hand tool that cuts matching raised edges and slots on boards so they fit together

turbo-propeller plane
  • Specialized
5.5

An airplane with a propeller turned by a turbine engine

woodworking plane
  • Specialized
6.3

A hand tool with a sharp adjustable blade for smoothing and shaping wood surfaces

How Smooth

to soar
89 1.8
to plane
1 3.6
to glide
78 2.9
to flutter
52 3.5

Surface Forms

plane infinitive
planned past
planned past participle
planing present participle
planes third person singular

Etymology

Plane as a verb meaning to glide comes from the same root planus 'flat' and the image of moving smoothly on a flat layer of air, so to plane is to glide or skim gently through the air.