A strategic plan of action designed to achieve a specific goal, originally from sports but now used broadly in business and personal contexts.
Originated in American football in the early 1940s, referring to the predetermined plays and strategies coaches developed for specific games. The term expanded beyond sports into business and general usage by the 1960s as a metaphor for any strategic approach.
The sports origin of 'game plan' reflects how deeply athletic metaphors have penetrated business language - we 'punt' on decisions, 'move the goalposts,' and 'play hardball.' This linguistic crossover shows how competitive sports provide a shared vocabulary for strategic thinking.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.