Word.ws English Dictionary

build the plane while flying it

build the plane while flying it verb: to develop one's approach or strategy to a project while carrying out that project, and not beforehand.

Verb

build the plane while flying it (third-person singular simple present builds the plane while flying it, present participle building the plane while flying it, simple past and past participle built the plane while flying it)

  1. (idiomatic) To develop one's approach or strategy to a project while carrying out that project, and not beforehand.

Forms of build the plane while flying it

third-person singular presentbuilds the plane while flying it
present participlebuilding the plane while flying it
past participlebuilt the plane while flying it
pastbuilt the plane while flying it
alternative formbuild the plane while flying

Questions about build the plane while flying it

What does build the plane while flying it mean?
Build the plane while flying it means to develop one's approach or strategy to a project while carrying out that project, and not beforehand.
What part of speech is build the plane while flying it?
Build the plane while flying it is a verb.
What is the past tense of build the plane while flying it?
The past tense of build the plane while flying it is built the plane while flying it.

Words near build the plane while flying it in the dictionary

  1. build on
  2. build on sand
  3. build out
  4. build plate
  5. build plates
  6. build the plane while flying it
  7. build up
  8. build upon
  9. Build, Build, Build
  10. build-to
  11. build-to-order

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: build the plane while flying it (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “build the plane while flying it.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/build_the_plane_while_flying_it. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.