Words / B2

PLOT/plɒt/

Plot is the events of a story, a secret plan, or a piece of land: summarise the plot; a plot to leak papers; a garden plot. Story is wider; conspiracy is stronger for the secret-plan sense. Save analysis for after the plot summary. Mix-up: plaque is a commemorative plate.

Meaning

The events of a story; also a secret plan, or a small piece of land.

Examples

• “Summarise the plot in one paragraph; save analysis for the next.”
• “Police foiled a plot to leak the paper, which is the conspiracy sense.”

Good to know

the plot of a novel; a plot to + verb; a building plot. Wider: story. Literature, crime news, and planning. Events, not themes.

Near in meaning

story

New