“You need to come up with a concrete plan.”

English Lesson: You need to come up with a concrete plan.

Your son is unemployed. You've asked him what he's going to do. He says that he's going to get a new job, but he doesn't know what kind of job. You want him to think more seriously about it.

You need to come up with a concrete plan.

Audio by native English speakers

You need to (do something)


You need to stop talking and pay attention.


come up with (something)

To "come up with" an idea means to create it. You usually use "create" for physical things that you make, but you use "come up with ___" to describe creating an idea, a plan, a name, etc. Another example:

Where'd you come up with the idea to start a blog about English phrases?

a concrete plan

"Concrete" things are solid. A "concrete plan" is realistic and detailed. It includes specific ideas about:

  • what to do
  • how to do it
  • what order to do each step in

Here are some examples of how to use the phrase "concrete plan":

We need to put together a concrete plan for how we're going to deal with this.

A: What are you doing for the holidays this year?

B: I don't have any concrete plans.

The opposite of a "concrete" plan is a "vague" plan.