project

noun

• 1an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned and designed to achieve a particular aim:a research project a nationwide project to encourage business development
• a school assignment undertaken by a student or group of students, typically as a long-term task that requires independent research:a history project
• a proposed or planned undertaking:the novel undermines its own stated project of telling a story

• 2 (also housing project) North American a government-subsidized housing development with relatively low rents:her family still lives in the projects

verb

• 1estimate or forecast (something) on the basis of present trends:spending was projected at $72 million
• (often as adjective projected) plan (a scheme or undertaking):a projected exhibition of contemporary art

• 2 [no object] extend outward beyond something else; protrude:I noticed a slip of paper projecting from the book (as adjective projecting)a projecting bay window

• 3throw or cause to move forward or outward:seeds are projected from the tree
• cause (light, shadow, or an image) to fall on a surface:the one light projected shadows on the wall
• cause (a sound, especially the voice) to be heard at a distance:being audible depends on your ability to project your voice
• imagine (oneself, a situation, etc.) as having moved to a different place or time:people may be projecting the present into the past

• 4present or promote (a particular view or image):he strives to project an image of youth
• present (someone or something) in a way intended to create a favorable impression:she liked to project herself more as a friend than a doctor
• display (an emotion or quality) in one’s behavior:everyone would be amazed that a young girl could project such depths of emotion
• (project something onto) transfer or attribute one’s own emotion or desire to (another person), especially unconsciously:men may sometimes project their own fears onto women

• 5 Geometry draw straight lines from a center of or parallel lines through every point of (a given figure) to produce a corresponding figure on a surface or a line by intersecting the surface.
• draw (such lines).
• produce (such a corresponding figure).

• 6make a projection of (the earth, sky, etc.) on a plane surface.