A scheme that encourages an activity or a process to begin, to increase, or to develop: A stimulus plan can be monetary aid provided in order to "energize" or to spur growth in the economy, that is to make greater efforts to improve the economic situation.

As President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress draft an economic stimulus plan for the United States, China is already two months into its own, very different stimulus effort to combat the global economic slump.