plumb

[ pluhm ]
See synonyms for plumb on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a small mass of lead or other heavy material, as that suspended by a line and used to measure the depth of water or to ascertain a vertical line.: Compare plumb line.

adjectiveAlso plum .
  1. true according to a plumb line perpendicular.

  2. Informal. downright or absolute.

adverbAlso plum .
  1. in a perpendicular or vertical direction.

  2. exactly, precisely, or directly.

  1. Informal. completely or absolutely: She was plumb mad. You're plumb right.

verb (used with object)
  1. to test or adjust by a plumb line.

  2. to make vertical.

  1. Shipbuilding. horn (def. 32).

  2. to sound with or as with a plumb line.

  3. to measure (depth) by sounding.

  4. to examine closely in order to discover or understand: to plumb someone's thoughts.

  5. to seal with lead.

  6. to weight with lead.

  7. to provide (a house, building, apartment, etc.) with plumbing.

verb (used without object)
  1. to work as a plumber.

Idioms about plumb

  1. out of / off plumb, not corresponding to the perpendicular; out of true.

Origin of plumb

1
1250–1300; Middle English plumbe, probably <Anglo-French *plombe<Vulgar Latin *plumba, for Latin plumbum lead

Other words for plumb

Other words from plumb

  • plumb·a·ble, adjective
  • plumbless, adjective
  • plumbness, noun
  • re·plumb, verb (used with object)
  • un·plumb, adjective

Words that may be confused with plumb

Words Nearby plumb

Other definitions for Plumb (2 of 2)

Plumb
[ pluhm ]

noun
  1. J(ohn) H(arold), 1911–2001, British historian.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use plumb in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plumb

plumb

/ (plʌm) /


noun
  1. a weight, usually of lead, suspended at the end of a line and used to determine water depth or verticality

  2. the perpendicular position of a freely suspended plumb line (esp in the phrases out of plumb, off plumb)

adjectiveAlso: plum
  1. (prenominal) informal, mainly US (intensifier): a plumb nuisance

adverbAlso: plum
  1. in a vertical or perpendicular line

  2. informal, mainly US (intensifier): plumb stupid

  1. informal exactly; precisely (also in the phrase plumb on)

verb
  1. (tr often foll by up) to test the alignment of or adjust to the vertical with a plumb line

  2. (tr) to undergo or experience (the worst extremes of misery, sadness, etc): to plumb the depths of despair

  1. (tr) to understand or master (something obscure): to plumb a mystery

  2. to connect or join (a device such as a tap) to a water pipe or drainage system

Origin of plumb

1
C13: from Old French plomb (unattested) lead line, from Old French plon lead, from Latin plumbum lead

Derived forms of plumb

  • plumbable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012