plumber
Americannoun
-
a person who installs and repairs piping, fixtures, appliances, and appurtenances in connection with the water supply, drainage systems, etc., both in and out of buildings.
-
Slang. an undercover operative or spy hired to detect or stop leaks of news or secret information, often using questionable or illegal methods, as illegal entry or wiretapping.
-
Obsolete. a worker in lead or similar metals.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of plumber
1375–1425; 1965–70 plumber for def. 2; late Middle English, spelling variant of Middle English plowber ≪ Late Latin plumbārius leadworker; replacing Middle English plummer < Anglo-French; Old French plummier < Latin, as above. See plumb, -er 2
Explanation
A plumber is someone whose job includes fixing pipes and installing water and sewage systems. If your kitchen sink is clogged, a plumber is the person to call. Plumbers's work ranges from relatively simple tasks like repairing toilets and removing clogs from drains, to much more complicated jobs including replacing all the old corroded pipes in a bathroom floor with new ones. The word plumber has been around since ancient Rome, when a plumber was "anyone who works with lead," and lead was a common material for pipes, baths, drains, and conduits. Fixing anything made of lead (which included roofs) made someone a plumber back then.
Vocabulary lists containing plumber
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Nat, a former Navy SEAL, launched Minuteman Plumbing, Heating & Cooling with a master plumber he met through a Harvard mentor between graduation and starting his job at a consulting firm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
A handsome plumber was as likely to get in as a couture-clad socialite; once inside, he might find himself chatting up Mick Jagger or dancing with Liza Minnelli.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Cuban-born plumber Roberto Mosquera -- who has been in Florida since he was a child -- was even a "super Trump supporter", according to his daughter Monica.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
Related: My plumber charged $160 to fix the cistern on my toilet — but created another problem.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
The plumber saw a man at the bottom of the stairwell.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Shortages of everything from electricians and plumbers to gas turbines and memory chips have driven up the cost of building new centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
ServiceTitan, which makes a software platform for trade professionals like plumbers and electricians, keeps winning larger enterprise customers, Celino noted—and the rollout of its Max workflow-automation program is going strong.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
AFSCME’s members include custodians, gardeners, dining hall food service workers, transportation workers and skilled craft workers such as plumbers and electricians.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
But also forgotten by those who bash tech billionaires: Making productive realtors, waitresses, plumbers, doctors, bakers and candlestick makers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
The museum staff was left to wonder why the Paris police were fixing plumbing problems when the Louvre had its own plumbers.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
