The word plane has several meanings:

1. A flat surface in geometry with no thickness that extends infinitely in all directions. Imagine a perfectly smooth tabletop that goes on forever. In math class, you plot points on a coordinate plane. Architects and engineers use planes to help design buildings and machines.
2. Short for airplane, a powered flying vehicle with fixed wings. The Wright Brothers built the first successful plane in 1903, and today planes carry millions of passengers across oceans and continents. You might fly on a plane to visit family in another city.
3. A carpenter's tool for smoothing wood by shaving off thin layers. A woodworker uses a plane to remove rough spots and create an even surface. The tool has a sharp blade set at an angle in a flat base, and as you push it across the board, wood shavings curl up and fall away.
4. Verb: to glide smoothly through air or water, like a pelican planing over ocean waves with its wings outstretched, or a speedboat planing across the lake with its bow lifted up.