Plot (?), n. [AS. plot; cf. Goth. plats a patch. Cf. Plat a piece of ground.] 1. A small extent of ground; a plat; as, a garden plot. Shak.
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2. A plantation laid out. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
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3. (Surv.) A plan or draught of a field, farm, estate, etc., drawn to a scale.
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Plot, n. [Abbrev. from complot.] 1. Any scheme, stratagem, secret design, or plan, of a complicated nature, adapted to the accomplishment of some purpose, usually a treacherous and mischievous one; a conspiracy; an intrigue; as, the Rye-house Plot.
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I have overheard a plot of death. Shak.
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O, think what anxious moments pass between
The birth of plots and their last fatal periods! Addison.
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2. A share in such a plot or scheme; a participation in any stratagem or conspiracy. [Obs.]
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And when Christ saith, Who marries the divorced commits adultery, it is to be understood, if he had any plot in the divorce. Milton.
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3. Contrivance; deep reach of thought; ability to plot or intrigue. [Obs.] “A man of much plot.” Denham.
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4. A plan; a purpose. “No other plot in their religion but serve God and save their souls.” Jer. Taylor.
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5. In fiction, the story of a play, novel, romance, or poem, comprising a complication of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means.
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If the plot or intrigue must be natural, and such as springs from the subject, then the winding up of the plot must be a probable consequence of all that went before. Pope.
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Syn. -- Intrigue; stratagem; conspiracy; cabal; combination; contrivance.
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Plot, v. t. To plan; to scheme; to devise; to contrive secretly. “Plotting an unprofitable crime.” Dryden. “Plotting now the fall of others.” Milton
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