Words / B2

PLAYN/pleɪn/

Plain means simple and not decorated, or clear; as a noun, a large flat area of land: plain English; a flood plain (often floodplain). Simple is everyday; obvious is “easy to see”. Give the answer in plain English, then the term. Mix-up: plane is an aircraft or a flat surface (already in the dictionary); plan. Do not call a mountain basin a plain.

Meaning

Simple and not decorated; also clear, or a large flat area of land (noun).

Examples

• “Give the answer in plain English, then the technical term.”
• “Map the flood plain, not the valley sides, the geography paper said.”

Good to know

plain English / paper / clothes; a flood plain; plainly. Trap: plane / plan. Language papers and geography. Simple, clear, or flat land — specify.

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