plant

1. PLANTS/SEEDS to put plants or seeds in the ground to grow:
Residents have helped us plant trees.
We’ve planted tomatoes and carrots in the garden.
plant a field/garden/area etc (with something)
a hillside planted with fir trees
2. PUT SOMETHING SOMEWHERE [always + adverb/preposition] informal to put something firmly in or on something else
plant something in/on etc something
He came up to her and planted a kiss on her cheek.
She planted her feet firmly to the spot and refused to move.
3. HIDE ILLEGAL GOODS informal to hide stolen or illegal goods in someone’s clothes, bags, room etc in order to make them seem guilty of a crime
plant something on somebody
She claims that the police planted the drugs on her.
4. BOMB plant a bomb to put a bomb somewhere:
Two men are accused of planting a bomb on the plane.
5. PERSON to put or send someone somewhere, especially secretly, so that they can find out information:
The police had planted undercover detectives at every entrance.
6. plant an idea/doubt/suspicion (in sb’s mind) to make someone begin to have an idea, especially so that they do not realize that you gave them the idea:
Someone must have planted the idea of suicide in his mind.
plant something ↔ out phrasal verb
to put a young plant into the soil outdoors, so that it has enough room to grow:
The seedlings should be planted out in May.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

SEEDS/PLANTS
1. ~ sth to put plants, seeds, etc. in the ground to grow
• to plant and harvest rice

• Plant these shrubs in full sun.

2. to cover or supply a garden/yard, area of land, etc. with plants
• ~ sth a densely planted orange grove

• ~ sth with sth The field had been ploughed and planted with corn.

PUT IN POSITION

3. ~ sth/yourself + adv./prep. to place sth or yourself firmly in a particular place or position
• They planted a flag on the summit.
• He planted himself squarely in front of us.

• Demonstrators planted themselves right in front of the convoy of trucks.

BOMB

4. ~ sth (+ adv./prep.) to hide sth such as a bomb in a place where it will not be found

STH ILLEGAL
5. ~ sth (on sb) to hide sth, especially sth illegal, in sb's clothing, possessions, etc. so that when it is found it will look as though they committed a crime

• He claims that the drugs were planted on him.

PERSON

6. ~ sb (in sth) to send sb to join a group, etc, especially in order to make secret reports on its members

• The police had planted an informer in the gang.

THOUGHT/IDEA

7. ~ sth (in sth) to make sb think or believe sth, especially without them realizing that you gave them the idea
• He planted the first seeds of doubt in my mind.
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
Old English plante ‘seedling’, plantian (verb), from Latin planta ‘sprout, cutting’ (later influenced by French plante) and plantare ‘plant, fix in a place’.
Thesaurus:
plant verb T
• Many farmers have planted cash crops.
cultivate • • grow •
plant/cultivate the land
plant/cultivate/grow crops
Example Bank:
• Carefully plant your cutting in the soil.
• He was determined to keep both feet firmly planted on dry land.
• She planted a kiss squarely on his cheek.
• The Bordeaux area is densely planted with vine.
• The garden was planted with roses and other shrubs.
• Zinfandel is California's most widely planted red grape.
• a thickly planted orange grove
• recently planted maples
• weeds that had not been deliberately planted

• Demonstrators planted themselves right in front of the convoy of trucks.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

plant / plɑːnt / / plænt / verb (LIVING THING)

B1 [ T ] to put a plant into the ground or into a container of earth so that it will grow:

We planted trees and bushes in our new garden.

Hyacinth bulbs planted in pots now will flower early in the spring.

[ T ] If you plant a particular area, you put plants into the ground there:

The plot was surrounded by a stone wall and planted with flowering trees.

a densely planted garden (= one in which the plants are close together)

planting / ˈplɑːn.tɪŋ / / ˈplæn.t̬ɪŋ / noun [ C or U ]

Heavy rain delayed planting in parts of Indiana.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

plant

[plɑ͟ːnt, plæ̱nt]

plants, planting, planted
1) N-COUNT A plant is a living thing that grows in the earth and has a stem, leaves, and roots.
→ See also bedding plant, pot plant, rubber plant
  Water each plant as often as required.
  ...exotic plants.
2) VERB When you plant a seed, plant, or young tree, you put it into the ground so that it will grow there.
  [V n] He says he plans to plant fruit trees and vegetables.
  Derived words:
  planting N-UNCOUNT Extensive flooding in the country has delayed planting and many crops are still under water.
3) VERB When someone plants land with a particular type of plant or crop, they put plants, seeds, or young trees into the land to grow them there.
  [V n with n] They plan to plant the area with grass and trees...
  [V n] Recently much of their energy has gone into planting a large vegetable garden.
  [V-ed] ...newly planted fields.
4) N-COUNT A plant is a factory or a place where power is produced.
  ...Ford's British car assembly plants...
  The plant provides forty per cent of the country's electricity.
5) N-UNCOUNT Plant is large machinery that is used in industrial processes.
  Firms may start to invest in plant and equipment abroad where costs may be lower.
  Syn:
  machinery
6) VERB If you plant something somewhere, you put it there firmly.
  [V n adv/prep] She planted her feet wide and bent her knees slightly.
  [V n adv/prep] ...with his enormous feet planted heavily apart.
7) VERB To plant something such as a bomb means to hide it somewhere so that it explodes or works there.
  [V n] So far no one has admitted planting the bomb.
8) VERB: oft passive If something such as a weapon or drugs is planted on someone, it is put among their possessions or in their house so that they will be wrongly accused of a crime.
  [be V-ed] He always protested his innocence and claimed that the drugs had been planted to incriminate him.
9) VERB If an organization plants someone somewhere, they send that person there so that they can get information or watch someone secretly.
  [V n] Journalists informed police who planted an undercover detective to trap Smith.
10) VERB If you plant a kiss on someone, you give them a kiss.
  [V n on n] She planted a kiss on each of his leathery cheeks.
11) VERB If you plant an idea in someone's mind, they begin to accept the idea without realizing that it has originally come from you and not from them.
  [V n] He hoped that he could plant the idea in such a way that Abramov would believe it was his own.
  Phrasal Verbs:
  - plant out

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

plant

²plant verb plants; plant·ed; plant·ing [+ obj]
1 a : to put (a seed, flower, or plant) in the ground to grow
• He planted the seeds.
• I planted corn this year.
b : to fill (an area) with seeds, flowers, or plants
• I planted the border with roses.
• a field planted with corn
2 a : to put or place (something) in the ground
• She planted stakes in the garden to hold the vines.
b : to put or place (something or yourself) firmly or forcefully on a surface or in a particular position
• He planted a punch on the other boxer's nose. [=he punched the other boxer's nose]
• She planted a big kiss on his cheek. [=she gave him a big kiss on his cheek]
• I firmly planted my feet and refused to move.
• He planted himself in front of the TV and stayed there.
3 a : to put (someone or something) in a place secretly
• Terrorists planted a bomb in the bus station.
• She claims that the police planted the drugs in her car.
• The police officers were accused of planting evidence at the scene. [=placing objects at the scene to make someone seem guilty of a crime]
• He was a spy planted in the office by a rival company.
b : to cause (a story, rumor, etc.) to be reported or talked about usually for some secret purpose
• Someone planted a rumor saying that he had died.
• They planted a story in the press about her mental problems.
4 : to cause (an idea, feeling, etc.) to be in someone's mind
• She planted the first seeds of doubt in my mind.
• The story planted the idea of starting my own business in my mind. [=the story made me think of starting my own business]