plum

¹

[pluhm]

noun

1. the drupaceous fruit of any of several trees belonging to the genus Prunus, of the rose family, having an oblong stone.

2. the tree itself.

3. any of various other trees bearing a plumlike fruit.

4. the fruit itself.

5. a sugarplum.

6. a raisin, as in a cake or pudding.

7. a deep purple varying from bluish to reddish.

8. Informal.,  an excellent or desirable thing, as a fine position.

   The choicest plums went to his old cronies.

9. Informal.,  an unanticipated large increase in money or property, as an unexpected legacy; a windfall.

   The company offered bonuses and other plums.

10. Also called displacer. a large stone used in massive concrete construction.

adjective

plummer, plummest 

1. extremely desirable, rewarding, profitable, or the like.

   a plum job in the foreign service.

Plum

²

[pluhm]

noun

1. a city in SW Pennsylvania.

plum

¹

/ plʌm /

noun

1. a small rosaceous tree, Prunus domestica, with white flowers and an edible oval fruit that is purple, yellow, or green and contains an oval stone See also greengage damson

2. the fruit of this tree

3. a raisin, as used in a cake or pudding

4. 1. a dark reddish-purple colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a plum carpet

5. informal

   1. something of a superior or desirable kind, such as a financial bonus

   2. ( as modifier )

      a plum job

plum

²

/ plʌm /

adjective

1. a variant spelling of plumb plumb plumb plumb

Other Word Forms

• plumlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plum¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English plūme (cognate with German Pflaume ) ≪ Greek proûmnon plum, proúmnē plum tree; prune ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of plum¹

Old English plūme; related to Latin prunum, German Pflaume

Example Sentences

To understand why slices of plum cake placed on a tray in front of three hungry children tend not to remain on the tray for very long, one need only have a taste.

Read more on Literature

The 68-year-old's collection of apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches and almonds, grown using methods of old, are more resilient to the climate shifts and extremes seen increasingly frequently in the southern Mediterranean.

Read more on Barron's

The account is a plum assignment on Madison Avenue, given the size of its budget—the consumer product maker spent $1.6 billion on advertising in 2024, according to its annual report.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

We worked hard as a family picking eastern Washington crops: cherries, apples, plums, grapes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There’s a pecorino plum crumble, for instance, and a gouda apple galette, combinations that sound mischievous until you taste how naturally they click.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• carrot 
• cream