1. A plan that encourages an activity or a process to begin, to increase, or to develop.
2. 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.