Thefactory andmachinery senses comes from the Latin sense of "any vegetable production that serves to propagate the species," which refers to something that produces.
(botany) Anorganism that is not an animal, especially an organism capable of photosynthesis. Typically a small or herbaceous organism of this kind, rather than atree.
The garden had a couple of trees, and a cluster of colourfulplants around the border.
Inplants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual. Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.
2007 November 19, Ping-chung Leung, Harry H S Fong,Alternative Treatment For Cancer, World Scientific,→ISBN, page205:
Someplants, such as mushrooms found in the wild, are difficult to identify. Some plants are poisonous, and an inexperienced individual may make mistakes in identification of wild plants, with tragic results.
The company has productionplants in three countries.
My dad worked at theplant for 27 years.
2025 6 Jan, Dominic Coyle, “Drug giant MSD buys Wuxi’s Irish vaccines plant in €500m deal”, inThe Irish Times[1], archived fromthe original on3 February 2025:
The US group does have another vaccineplant in Ireland – in Carlow – but it is understood the Dundalk site is the only live virus vaccine facility in MSD’s Irish network.
Anyone assigned to behave as a member of thepublic during a covert operation (as in a police investigation).
A person, placed amongst anaudience, whose role is to cause confusion, laughter etc.
(snooker) A play in which thecue ball knocks one (usually red) ball onto another, in order to pot the second; aset.
2008 April 28, Phil Yates,The Times:
O’Sullivan risked aplant that went badly astray, splitting the reds.
2007 January 26, “HSS buys Laois tool hire business”, inRTÉ News[2], archived fromthe original on3 February 2025:
The company's product range includes tools, constructionplant, diggers, dumpers and rollers.
(obsolete) A young tree; a sapling; hence, a stick or staff.
1694, “The Third Book ofVirgil'sGeorgicks”, inJohn Dryden, transl.,The Annual Miscellany, for the Year 1694, 2nd edition, London: Jacob Tonson, published1708,page185:
Take, Shepherd, take aPlant of ſtubborn Oak; / And labour him with many a ſturdy ſtroke: / Or with hard Stones, demoliſh from afar / His haughty Creſt, the feat of all the War.
It wasn’t a badplant that of mine, on Fikey, the man accused of forging the Sou’ Westeru Railway debentures—it was only t’ other day—because the reason why? I’ll tell you.
Anoyster which has beenbedded, in distinction from one of natural growth.
The scientific definition of what organisms should be considered plants changed dramatically during the 20th century. Bacteria, algae, and fungi are no longer considered plants by those who study them. Many textbooks do not reflect the most current thinking on classification.
1848,Jacob Abbott, “Story I. Labour Lost.—Elky.”, inRollo at Work: Or, The Way for a Boy to Learn to be Industrious[3], London: James S. Hodson, page 5:
His father had given him a little square bed in a corner of the garden, which he hadplanted with corn two days before.
1991 November 26, Don Trivette, “How Does Your Garden Grow? With Silver Bells And Mouse Button Clicks”, inPC Mag[4], volume10, number20, Ziff Davis, Inc.,→ISSN, page604:
With your mouse, youplant a garden by selecting plants from a database of 450 of the most common flowers, shrubs, and trees.
(transitive) To place (anobject, or sometimes a person), often with the implication of intending deceit.
That gun’s not mine! It wasplanted there by the real murderer!
1999, Terry Prone,The Skywriter, page182:
Not only that, I thought, but cynics would now theorise that the interview piece was a PR exercise, aplanted story designed as damage-limitation in the event that some probing journalist revealed all about the love nest.
(transitive) To place or set something firmly or with conviction.
toplant cannon against a fort; toplant a flag; toplant one’s feet on solid ground
Plant your feet firmly and give the rope a good tug.
2011 January 15, Sam Sheringham, “Chelsea 2 - 0 Blackburn Rovers”, inBBC[5]:
First Anelka curled a shot wide from just outside the box, then Lampardplanted a header over the bar from Bosingwa's cross.
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “plant”, inGeiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
