plain (plainer comparative) (plainest superlative) (plains plural )
1 adj A plain object, surface, or fabric is entirely in one colour and has no pattern, design, or writing on it.
usu ADJ n
In general, a plain carpet makes a room look bigger..., He wore a plain blue shirt, open at the collar.
2 adj Something that is plain is very simple in style., (Antonym: fancy, elaborate)
Bronwen's dress was plain but it hung well on her...
plainly adv ADV -ed
He was very tall and plainly dressed.
3 adj If a fact, situation, or statement is plain, it is easy to recognize or understand.
usu v-link ADJ, oft it v-link ADJ that
(=clear)
It was plain to him that I was having a nervous breakdown..., He's made it plain that he loves the game and wants to be involved still.
→
plain-spoken
4 adj If you describe someone as plain, you think they look ordinary and not at all beautiful.
...a shy, rather plain girl with a pale complexion.
5 n-count A plain is a large flat area of land with very few trees on it.
Once there were 70 million buffalo on the plains.
6 adv You can use plain before an adjective in order to emphasize it.
ADV adj (emphasis)
The food was just plain terrible.
Plain is also used before a noun., adj ADJ n
Is it love of publicity or plain stupidity on her part?
7 If a police officer is in plain clothes, he or she is wearing ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform.
in plain clothes phrase v-link PHR, PHR after v Three officers in plain clothes told me to get out of the car. →
plain sailing →
sailing
flood plain (flood plains plural ), floodplain A flood plain is a flat area on the edge of a river, where the ground consists of soil, sand, and rock left by the river when it floods. n-count
plain chocolate
Plain chocolate is dark brown chocolate that has a stronger and less sweet taste than milk chocolate.
(BRIT) n-uncount
in AM, use dark chocolate
plain-clothes , plainclothes
Plain-clothes police officers wear ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform. adj ADJ n (Antonym: uniformed)
He was arrested by plain-clothes detectives as he walked through the customs hall.
→
in plain clothes
→
plain
plain flour
Plain flour is flour that does not make cakes and biscuits rise when they are cooked because it has no chemicals added to it.
(BRIT) n-uncount
in AM, use all-purpose flour
plain-spoken , plainspoken
If you say that someone is plain-spoken, you mean that they say exactly what they think, even when they know that what they say may not please other people. adj
(approval)
(=frank)
...a plain-spoken American full of scorn for pomp and pretense.
