project

noun

1. A planned endeavor, usually with a specific goal and accomplished in several steps or stages.

   “projects of happiness devised by human reason”

   “Rainbow, […]came forward enthusiastically to put its money into the project in sums which ran all the way from one share at ten dollars to ten shares”

   “The proposal with China would involve a project to create artificial rain.”

2. (US, plural-normally)An urban, low-income housing building.

   “Projects like Pruitt-Igoe were considered irreparably dangerous and demolished.”

   “Experiments when needles and skin connect / No wonder where we live is called the projects”

   “Imagine rock up in them projects / Where them niggas pick your pockets”

3. (dated)An idle scheme; an impracticable design.

   “a man given to projects”

4. (US)A raw recruit who the team hopes will improve greatly with coaching; a long shot, diamond in the rough.

   “Sakho was seen as no-frills, whereas Maiga was a project who could develop into the next big thing.”

   “Elway acknowledged at the time that Lynch was a project who needed some seasoning but he expressed hope that Lynch might be a quick study. He wasn't.”

5. (obsolete)A projectile.
6. (obsolete)A projection.

verb

1. (intransitive)To extend beyond a surface.
2. (transitive)To cast (an image or shadow) upon a surface; to throw or cast forward; to shoot forth.

   “Before his feet her selfe she did proiect”

   “Behold! th' ascending villas on my side / Project long shadows o'er the crystal tide.”

3. (transitive)To extend (a protrusion or appendage) outward.
4. (transitive)To make plans for; to forecast.

   “The CEO is projecting the completion of the acquisition by April 2007.”

   “To form a strict alliance between the cabinets of Paris and London—which meant, that he should influence both,—to induce Charles to marry the loveliest of his nieces, Hortense—thus making a common interest between them, were now the great objects with the Cardinal; and the present visit was of his projecting.”

   “projecting Peace and Warr?”

5. (reflexive, transitive)To present (oneself), to convey a certain impression, usually in a good way.

   “It is difficult to gauge the exact point at which women stop trying to fool men and really begin to deceive themselves, but an objective analyst cannot escape the conclusion (1) that partly from a natural device inherent in the species, women deliberately project upon actual or potential suitors an impression of themselves that is not an accurate picture of their total nature, and (2) that few women ever are privileged to see themselves as they really are.”

6. (transitive)To assume qualities or mindsets in others based on one's own personality.
7. To change the projection (or coordinate system) of spatial data with another projection.
8. To draw straight lines from a fixed point through every point of any body or figure, and let these fall upon a surface so as to form the points of a new figure.
9. (of a neuron or group of neurons) to have axon(s) extending to and therefore able to influence a remote location
10. (transitive)To cause (one's voice or words) to be heard at a great distance.

    “to project one's voice”

11. (intransitive)To speak or sing in such a way that one can be heard at a great distance.

    “You would think that topic coulda put me to sleep, but HE can really project when HE wants to.”

12. (figuratively, transitive)To extend to reach a point.

    “When a word occurs only in Indo-European languages of northern or western Europe, for instance, projecting that word back to Proto-Indo-European is considered dubious.”