plume

American  

[ploom] / plum /

noun

plumes plural

1. a feather.

2. a large, long, or conspicuous feather.

   the brilliant plume of a peacock.

3. a soft, fluffy feather.

   the plume of an egret.

4. any plumose part or formation.

5. a feather, a tuft of feathers, or some substitute, worn as an ornament, as on a hat, helmet, etc.

6. a feather or featherlike token of honor or distinction, especially one worn on a helmet.

7. plumage.

8. a vertically or longitudinally moving, rising, or expanding fluid body, as of smoke or water.

9. a visible pattern of smoke resulting from emissions from a stack, flue, or chimney.

10. Also called mantle plume.  Geology. a deep-seated upwelling of magma within the earth's mantle.

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verb (used with object)

plumes, present (3rd person singular) plumed, past participle, past pluming present participle

1. to furnish, cover, or adorn with plumes or feathers.

2. (of a bird) to preen (itself or its feathers).

3. to feel complacent satisfaction with (oneself ); pride (oneself ) (often followed by on orupon ).

   She sat before the mirror, pluming herself upon her beauty.

plume British  

/ pluːm /

noun

1. a feather, esp one that is large or ornamental

2. a feather or cluster of feathers worn esp formerly as a badge or ornament in a headband, hat, etc

3. biology any feathery part, such as the structure on certain fruits and seeds that aids dispersal by wind

4. something that resembles a plume

   a plume of smoke

5. a token or decoration of honour; prize

6. Also called: mantle plume.  geology a rising column of hot, low viscosity material within the earth's mantle, which is believed to be responsible for linear oceanic island chains and flood basalts

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verb

1. to adorn or decorate with feathers or plumes

2. (of a bird) to clean or preen (itself or its feathers)

3. to pride or congratulate (oneself)

plume Scientific  

/ plo̅o̅m /

1. A feather, especially a large one.

2. A body of magma that rises from the Earth's mantle into the crust.

3. ◆ If a plume rises to the Earth's surface, it erupts as lava.

4. ◆ If it remains below the Earth's surface, it eventually solidifies into a body of rock known as a pluton.

5. An area in air, water, soil, or rock containing pollutants released from a single source. A plume often spreads in the environment due to the action of wind, currents, or gravity.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• replume
  verb (used with object)
• plumeless
  adjective
• plumelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plumes
  plural

Participles

• pluming
  present
• plumed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• plume
  simple
• plumes
  simple
• have plumed
  perfect
• has plumed
  perfect
• am pluming
  progressive
• are pluming
  progressive
• is pluming
  progressive
• have been pluming
  perfect progressive
• has been pluming
  perfect progressive

Past

• plumed
  simple
• had plumed
  perfect
• was pluming
  progressive
• were pluming
  progressive
• had been pluming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will plume
  simple
• will have plumed
  perfect
• will be pluming
  progressive
• will have been pluming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of plume

1350–1400; earlier plome, plume, Middle English plume < Middle French < Latin plūma soft feather (> Old English plūm-, in plūmfether downy feather)

Explanation

Think of a large, fluffy, colorful feather and you are imagining a plume, something that can be used decoratively, often in hats or vases, just as it creates a decorative element for the bird it comes from. We can trace the present word plume from the Old English word plūmfether. Going back further, we can find the Latin pluma meaning "feather" or "down." Plume is often applied to a large puff of smoke or any mass that spreads into the air from a single source. If you see a plume of smoke coming from the chimney, the fireplace is going. If you see a plume of smoke coming from the window, call the fire department.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plume plumes plumed pluming

A mantle plume is a column of unusually hot material moving upward through Earth's interior.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

Videos posted to social media appeared to show a plume of smoke rising from the stricken transformer.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

It featured a swirling plume of smoke, accompanying the story “The West’s Infernos Are Melting Our Sense of How Fire Works,” and the irony wasn’t lost on him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

Flamingos had been hunted almost to extinction by 1900, thanks to an international plume trade that valued their feathers higher per ounce than gold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Everything was sort of violet and still, the sky green paling into gold beyond the gable of the house and a plume of smoke rising from the chimney without any wind.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

The whole film is hazy — literally — with plumes of mist rippling through soundstages so stripped of life they resemble the bones of a dream.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Wildfires in Canada send plumes to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

On Monday afternoon, footage on social media showed plumes of smoke rising above rooftops in Sanaa after the strikes at the city's international airport.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Clement Boher, a 37-year-old resident, said he and his family had been on alert since he saw plumes of smoke rise about the forest on Sunday night.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

He could close his eyes and see them still: flames whirling from brick pyramids larger than any castle he had ever seen, plumes of greasy smoke coiling upward like great black snakes.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

A naming contest has been launched for the two eaglets born this month to proud and plumed parents Jackie and Shadow, the widely followed Big Bear bald eagle pair whose lives are streamed online.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

The King and Queen followed convention and were at the back of the procession dressed in white plumed hats and dark blue velvet robes, as were the other members of the order.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025

Radioactive fallout plumed over the area but the public was never warned, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a publication founded in 1945 by nuclear physicists concerned about the dangers of atomic weapons.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2022

In a real fairy tale, her tea kettle would turn into a carriage and those dogs would become plumed white horses.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2022

A long gown and a plumed hat brushing both sides of the narrow stairs.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Stepping out of the truck, Avery looked up and saw flames and smoke pluming into the night sky.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2023

Elizabeth Leddy, 28, from Poole said: "The amount of smoke pluming out was like no heath fire I've seen before."

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2022

Crews arrived to find heavy fire and black smoke pluming from the single-level home.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2021

“I’m not very good,” he laughs, his breath pluming the air.

From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2020

“Ausziehen,” Volkheimer will say, his breath pluming out in front of him, and almost every time, the big Russian will understand.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr