Meanings
plural game plans
- idiomaticAny strategy devised to reach a given objective.
So what is the game plan? We need to get everyone out of this alive, and I am clueless.
3 more examples
But as his rumpus with Mr. Christie entered its second and third rounds, Mr. Rubio appeared to abandon that game plan.
2016 February 7, Michael Barbaro, “Once Impervious, Marco Rubio Is Diminished by a Caustic Chris Christie”, in The New York TimesSouthgate's decision to select two defensively-minded midfield men once more in Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips was another strong indicator that this will be his preferred formation at the Euros this summer. It is a game plan which has looked stodgy on occasions, particularly in two Uefa Nations League games against Denmark, a goalless draw in Copenhagen and a defeat at Wembley, and leaves Southgate open to accusations of over-caution.
2021 March 28, Phil McNulty, “Albania 0-2 England”, in BBC SportKaroline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the administration “had a strong game plan” before the war broke out, and vowed that oil prices would drop after it ended.
2026 March 11, Mark Mazzetti, Tyler Pager, Edward Wong, quoting Karoline Leavitt, “How Trump and His Advisers Miscalculated Iran’s Response to War”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
From the strategies used in sports.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish suunnitelma
- suunnitelmastrategy
French stratégie, plan d'action
- stratégiestrategy
- plan d'actionstrategy
Polish plan gry
- plan grystrategy
Cite this entry
game plan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/game%20plan
“game plan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/game%20plan. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “game plan,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/game%20plan.
Source: game plan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.