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to plant

to plant

142 8.1
To secretly put something or someone in a place to deceive others
  • verb
  • /plænt/
: plantar
  • The police radio that Jeffrey planted under the bed and Frank's radio both start broadcasting.

You know, a couple years ago, Saudi Arabia planted spies inside Twitter.

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Examples

  • The victim alleged that his attackers said they could easily plant guns or drugs on him and kill him.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Five burglars break in to photograph documents and plant listening devices at the Democratic National Committee headquarters located inside the landmark building.

  • So they take their detective who looks exactly like her and plants her in the house.

  • And if you listen to the podcast carefully, I planted some things there on purpose.

  • I stole all the stuff and planted it on Brook.

  • If there were electronic bugs and tiny hidden cameras to plant, he would do that as well.

    Academic text (2002)
  • And was it in November, Agent Brandon, that your team planted bugs in that establishment?

  • The undercover agent planted listening devices in the suspect's office without anyone noticing.

  • She planted a hidden camera in the room to observe the meeting secretly.

  • During the investigation, they discovered that someone had planted false evidence to mislead the police.

Antonyms

∞ 1.5

To move something or someone away from a place

140 5.5

To make a person leave their usual place or job

Idioms

1 5.9

To make someone begin to feel unsure about something

Phrasal Verbs

4 4.9

Stand firmly in one place to show you will not change your mind

To add plant food to help a plant grow

Compounds

192 2.9

A place where electricity is made for homes and businesses

chemical plant
  • Specialized
27 3.6

A factory that makes chemicals in large amounts

18 2.8

All the plants that live in a particular place, like trees and flowers

A large factory where goods are made using machines

gas plant
  • Specialized
11 4.1

A place where natural gas is prepared and sent to customers

assembly plant
  • Specialized
10 3.2

A factory where parts are put together to make a product

A way of eating mostly vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and beans

8 2.8

A green plant people grow in a pot indoors to make a room look nicer

7 3.2

A factory that kills and packs animals to sell as meat

6 2.8

A substance added to soil or water to feed plants and help them grow

A place where electricity is made and sent to homes and businesses

6 4.6

A factory or workplace stopping all work and ending jobs there

5 3.7

A factory where steel is made from iron and other materials

5 1.0

A plant that grows red round fruits people eat

A plant that makes flowers and has seeds inside a fruit

Parts of trees and other green growing things like leaves, stems or roots

A factory where workers put drinks into bottles and seal them for sale

A group of buildings where goods are made with machines

A place where old paper, glass, and plastic are cleaned and made ready to be used again

plant cell
  • Specialized
3 3.0

A tiny living part of a plant with a stiff wall, green chloroplasts, and a large storage space inside

A plant that can be deadly if you touch it or eat it

A plant with a deep tube of liquid that traps and digests insects

tobacco plant
  • Specialized
2 3.4

A plant grown for its leaves that are dried and made into cigarettes or cigars

plant kingdom
  • Specialized
2 4.1

A group of living things that includes mosses, ferns, and trees

coca plant
  • NSFW
2 7.0

A South American shrub with leaves that people chew and that contain cocaine

A plant that grows in or near water, like a water lily

1 3.5

Eating mainly plants

A plant that eats insects and small animals to get food

1 1.0

A plant people grow outside near their house for flowers or food

1 2.1

A bushy plant that produces white round pods with soft fibers used for cloth

plant tissue
  • Specialized
1 3.4

Parts inside a plant made of cells with different jobs

1 3.6

A plant with long narrow leaves and small white or pink flowers often grown indoors

1 3.6

A plant that can live with very little water, for example a cactus

heating plant
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A system in a building that makes warm air and sends it to rooms

plant disease
  • Specialized
1 2.3

A sickness that harms plants, often caused by fungi, bacteria, or viruses

1 7.0

A small insect like an aphid that sucks juices from plants

woody plant
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A plant with hard stems, like a tree or shrub

Something made from plants used for food, cloth, or medicine

The part of a company that builds, maintains, and looks after its buildings and machines

1 1.0

A small garden plant with white flowers and long green pods containing edible green seeds

1 3.1

Large tropical tree often kept indoors as a houseplant that can make natural rubber

1 1.4

A plant that produces beans you can eat

herbaceous plant
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A plant without a woody stem that dies back each year

1 3.2

A plant that makes seeds to grow new plants

1 6.0

A small bright insect that feeds on the juice inside plants

plant family
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A group of related plants with similar flowers and leaves

bedding plant
  • Specialized
1 3.2

A plant grown to put in a flowerbed for seasonal garden displays

vascular plant
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A plant with special tubes that carry water and nutrients, like ferns or trees

air plant
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A plant that needs no soil, takes water and food from air and rain, lives on other plants without harm

belladonna plant
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A poisonous plant with bell-shaped flowers and shiny black berries used to make atropine

1 7.0

A low plant with thick leaves that look covered in tiny shiny hairs like ice

1 3.5

Long thin parts of plants used to make cloth, rope and to help the body use food when eaten

disposal plant
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A place where dirty water and other waste are cleaned and made safe

1 2.2

A plant that lives in water, attached to the bottom or floating

A person who studies how plants grow and live

A plant people grow for food or decoration

plant toxin
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A poison made by a plant that can harm people or animals

A plant that makes beans used for food and oil

plant hormone
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A natural chemical in plants that controls their growth and responses

parasitic plant
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A plant that lives on another plant and takes its food from it

nightshade plant
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A plant in the potato and tomato family that can be dangerous to eat

An indoor plant with large dark leaves that can make your tongue and throat swell if eaten

A plant that keeps green leaves all year like a pine or holly

A plant with a large edible flower head that is grown for food

A plant that loses its leaves each year in autumn

A tropical plant with pitcher-shaped leaves that trap and digest insects

A material that comes from plants, like leaves, roots, or oils

1 8.4

A large plant with thick, sword-shaped leaves and a tall flower stalk

1 3.9

A plant that grows in soft wet ground like a reed or cattail

1 3.9

A houseplant with long, stiff leaves that grow upright

A tropical plant whose leaves fold when touched or at night

1 6.2

A plant that grows in very wet, soft ground like bogs and marshes and can live in poor soil

1 1.0

A plant with a round bulb you can eat and long hollow leaves

How Secret

to hide
∞ 1.0
to plant
142 8.1
stash
  • Informal
133 4.3

Surface Forms

plant infinitive
planted past
planted past participle
planting present participle
plants third person singular

Etymology

Plant meaning to place something secretly comes from the basic sense 'to put in a place', the same idea as planting a tree. That's why to plant evidence or a device is to hide or put it there on purpose, like setting something into the ground.