plumb

[ pluhm ]

/ plʌm /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR plumb ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

adjective Also plum.

true according to a plumb line perpendicular.

Informal. downright or absolute.

adverb Also plum.

in a perpendicular or vertical direction.

exactly, precisely, or directly.

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

verb (used with object)

to test or adjust by a plumb line.

to make vertical.

Shipbuilding. horn(def 32).

to sound with or as with a plumb line.

to measure (depth) by sounding.

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

to seal with lead.

to weight with lead.

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

verb (used without object)

to work as a plumber.

Nearby words

plum duff, plum pudding, plum tomato, plumage, plumate, plumb, plumb bob, plumb joint, plumb line, plumb rule, plumbaginaceous

Idioms

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

Origin of plumb

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

SYNONYMS FOR plumb

2 vertical, straight, square.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR plumb ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

plumb·a·ble, adjectiveplumb·less, adjectiveplumb·ness, nounre·plumb, verb (used with object)

un·plumb, adjective

Can be confused

plum plumb

Definition for plumb (2 of 2)

Plumb

[ pluhm ]

/ plʌm /

noun

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for plumb

He has no redeeming or (even complicating) qualities—no depths to plumb, no angles to survey, no gray areas to explore.
Game of Thrones’ ‘The Lion and the Rose’: Joffrey’s Demented, Shocking Royal Wedding|Andrew Romano|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nearly 65 years after the fact, it's amazing how much of what we think we know about Britain's "finest" hour is just plumb wrong.
Rethink Everything You Think You Know About World War II|David Frum|February 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the “just plumb crazy” class, I put the business of his chaining his mug to the radiator to prevent its being stolen.
Alan Turing’s Brother: He Should Be Alive Today|John Ferrier Turing|June 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She believes her illness has bestowed on her a single-mindedness that causes her to plumb the same waters again and again.
Josephine King Connects Madness and Art in London|Casey Schwartz|May 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Her companions stuck to the side of the road, but Suu Kyi walked into the middle, plumb in the line of fire.
‘The Lady and the Peacock’: Peter Popham’s Biography Reveals the Real Aung San Suu Kyi|Peter Popham|March 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was just plumb, downright, miserably hungry for ham and eggs.
In Pawn|Ellis Parker Butler
There was no way to discover other than to plumb the abyss with his body.
The Mad King|Edgar Rice Burroughs
"I was so flustered that I plumb forgot to be civil," he said.
We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run|James Arthur Kjelgaard
It will be just like 'Specs,' if it is a still night, to drop a plumb line and check himself.
L. P. M.|J. Stewart Barney
There's nothing th' matter with his eyesight, but he's plumb locoed, all th' same.
Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up|Clarence Edward Mulford

British Dictionary definitions for plumb

plumb

/ (plʌm) /

noun

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

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

adjective Also: plum

(prenominal) informal, mainly US (intensifier)a plumb nuisance

adverb Also: plum

in a vertical or perpendicular line

informal, mainly US (intensifier)plumb stupid

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

verb

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

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

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

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

Derived Forms

plumbable, adjective

Word Origin for plumb

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

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