planner

planner — noun

1. a notebook, calendar, or app where you write down what you need to do and when,

1.nounA2
Definition

a notebook, calendar, or app where you write down what you need to do and when, so you can keep track of your time.

Example

Lina opens her daily planner every morning and lists three tasks for the day.

daily planner; verb 'open'

I wrote the dentist appointment in my planner so I would not forget it.

write [event] in my planner

Common collocations
  • daily planner
  • weekly planner
  • monthly planner
  • wall planner
  • meal planner
  • project planner
  • use a planner
  • in my planner
Synonyms
  • diary

    British English; usually a paper book with a page per day

  • organizer

    older word, often a leather-bound paper system; now also any digital tool

  • calendar

    shows dates only; a planner adds space for tasks and notes

Grammar Patterns

[daily/weekly/meal] + planner

use a planner

in my planner

Usage Note

Subject is the user, not the planner itself, in most learner-friendly sentences. The modifier tells you the format (wall, desk, pocket) or the focus (daily, weekly, meal, project, wedding).

Common Mistakes

My planner told me about the meeting.
My planner reminded me about the meeting.' / 'I checked my planner and saw the meeting.
a planner does not 'tell' you anything; you read it or it sends a notification.

2. a person paid to organize an event, project, or part of someone's life, working

2.nounB2
Definition

a person paid to organize an event, project, or part of someone's life, working out all the details and timing in advance.

Example

Maya hired a wedding planner to handle the flowers, music, and seating chart.

compound noun: wedding planner

The party planner suggested a sunset boat ride for Diego's fortieth birthday.

[event] + planner pattern

Common collocations
  • wedding planner
  • event planner
  • party planner
  • financial planner
  • travel planner
  • hire a planner
  • work with a planner
Synonyms
  • organizer

    broader; covers anyone arranging an event, even informally

  • coordinator

    stresses linking people and tasks together rather than designing the plan

  • consultant

    advises on what to do; a planner usually executes the plan as well

Grammar Patterns

[modifier] + planner

planner + for + [event/area]

Usage Note

Almost always preceded by a modifier that names the field or event being organized (wedding, party, event, financial, travel). A bare 'a planner' for a person sounds incomplete in most contexts.

Common Mistakes

My planner told me to invest in bonds.
My financial planner told me to invest in bonds.
without a modifier, 'planner' for a person is too vague and is easily read as sense 1 (the document/app).

3. an expert who decides where roads, houses, parks, and other features should go i

3.nounC1
Definition

an expert who decides where roads, houses, parks, and other features should go in a town or city, and shapes how the area will grow over time.

Example

City planners in Taipei are studying ways to add more bike lanes downtown.

city planner — most common form

The urban planner argued that the new market should sit closer to the train station.

urban planner + that-clause argument

Common collocations
  • urban planner
  • city planner
  • town planner
  • regional planner
  • planning department
Synonyms
  • town planner

    British English equivalent; same role at town or city scale

  • urbanist

    broader thinker about cities; not always a working planner

Grammar Patterns

[urban/town/city] + planner

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2: this sense always concerns physical land use (towns, cities, regions). The modifier is geographic (urban, town, city, regional), not an event type.

Common Mistakes

A city planner organized the wedding venue downtown.
A wedding planner organized the venue downtown.
'city planner' is a profession in government or consultancy that designs how a city is built, not a person who books venues.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

All four words describe people who arrange events or projects, but they emphasize different roles. A 'planner' designs the whole structure of an event or financial future in advance — what happens, when, and in what order. An 'organizer' is the broadest term and often used informally; the organizer of a school fair may simply be a parent who volunteered. A 'coordinator' focuses on linking people and moving parts together as the work happens, so a wedding coordinator may step in only on the day itself, while a wedding planner has been involved for months. A 'consultant' advises but does not usually carry out the plan, so a financial consultant suggests strategies that you or a planner then execute. Compare: 'We hired a planner to design the trip, a coordinator to handle the day, and a consultant to review our budget.'

planner ↗organizer ↗coordinator ↗consultant ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wedding planner
  • event planner
  • party planner
  • financial planner
  • city planner
  • urban planner
  • daily planner
  • meal planner
  • project planner

Phrases

  • hire a planner
  • work with a planner
  • use a planner
  • write in a planner

Prepositions

  • planner for [event/area]
  • in my planner
  • with a planner

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English in the 1700s by adding the agent suffix '-er' to the verb 'plan', which itself was borrowed from French 'plan' meaning a flat drawing or map of a building. Originally a planner was simply someone who drew up a building plan; the modern senses (the diary or app, the professional organizer, and the urban specialist) all developed later as the word 'plan' itself widened to mean any worked-out scheme for the future.