What does plain mean?
Word: Plain
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Plain means a large area of flat land with few trees. As an adjective, plain also means simple, with nothing extra.
Synonyms: flatland, grassland
Sounds like: plane (an aeroplane, or a perfectly flat surface)
How do you spell plain?
Syllables: plain
Tricky part: The long a sound is spelt ai. Its sound-alike plane, the flying machine or a flat surface, is spelt with a-e.
Watch out for: plaine, playn
Memory tip: The rain falls on the plain: both words have ai. A plane, with a-e, flies above it.
Idioms and Phrases
- plain sailing: Easy, with no problems. Example: "Once we found the right road, the trip was plain sailing."
Plain in a sentence
Example 1: Wheat and rice grow well on the wide plains of Punjab.
Example 2: The herd of deer ran across the open plain.
Example 3: From the hilltop we could see the plain stretching for miles.
Fun Fact
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, watered by the Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra river systems, is one of the largest farming plains in the world.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: plain
a) basic
b) fancy
c) ordinary
d) clear
Show answer
b) fancy. Plain also means simple, so its opposite is fancy, full of decoration.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
pllain
a) l
b) a
c) n
d) p
Show answer
a) l. Plain has a single l, straight after the p.
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
plain
a) lly
b) lie
c) ly
d) ley
Show answer
c) ly. Plain takes ly to make plainly, as in clearly.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) montain
b) plain
c) rivver
d) vally
Show answer
b) plain. Mountain, valley and river are misspelt here, so plain is right.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In 'a plain white shirt', plain means ____.
a) dirty and very old
b) bought only today
c) too big to wear
d) with no pattern on it
Show answer
d) with no pattern on it
2. Which sentence uses plain correctly?
a) She wore a plain blue dress.
b) We flew to Goa on a plain.
c) A plain flew over our house.
d) The plain landed at noon.
Show answer
a) She wore a plain blue dress.
