plumbing

[ pluhm-ing ]

/ ˈplʌm ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR plumbing ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the system of pipes and other apparatus for conveying water, liquid wastes, etc., as in a building.

the work or trade of a plumber.

act of a person who plumbs, as in ascertaining depth.

Nearby words

plumber's snake, plumbery, plumbic, plumbicon, plumbiferous, plumbing, plumbism, plumbo-, plumbous, plumbous oxide, plumbum

Origin of plumbing

First recorded in 1660–70; plumb + -ing¹

Definition for plumbing (2 of 2)

plumb

[ pluhm ]

/ plʌm /

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.

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 confusedplum plumb

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

Examples from the Web for plumbing

They found the building was a shell, with no apparently electricity or plumbing, and no completed inner construction.
Nobody’s Home at the Hermit Kingdom’s Ghost Hotel|Nina Strochlic|May 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pliny the Elder considered their plumbing to be the greatest accomplishment of the Roman Empire.
The Scariest Thing About Sandy: Guarding the Water Supply|Kent Sepkowitz|October 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Hotel maintenance is a never-ending job, and plumbing can be very expensive to fix.
Gordon Ramsay: 7 Hotel Horrors!|Gordon Ramsay|August 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Even once the plumbing was installed, some jugs of hot water were still taken up.
The Real Downton Abbey: Juiciest Bits From 'The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle'|Tom Sykes|January 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Well, if you hire a cheap plumber, don't be surprised when the plumbing breaks.
America's New Mercenaries|Tim Shorrock|December 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He was wholly absorbed in plumbing the gloomy depths of his mind.
Good References|E. J. Rath
It is not necessary that all the plumbing contract be let at the time the city water service is supplied.
Convenient Houses|Louis Henry Gibson
In such cases the equipment must be a movable one, and gas stoves and plumbing are impossible.
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Management|Ministry of Education
The figures given in connection with plumbing work are not necessarily accurate.
Convenient Houses|Louis Henry Gibson
There are plumbing connections, but these are not suitable for the transmission of a signal.
Tangle Hold|F. L. Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for plumbing (1 of 2)

plumbing

/ (ˈplʌmɪŋ) /

noun

Also called: plumbery the trade or work of a plumber

the pipes, fixtures, etc, used in a water, drainage, or gas installation

the act or procedure of using a plumb to gauge depth, a vertical, etc

British Dictionary definitions for plumbing (2 of 2)

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 Formsplumbable, 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

Word Origin and History for plumbing (1 of 4)

plumbing

mid-15c., "the weighting of a fishing line," verbal noun from plumb (v.). Specific meaning "water and drainage pipes" is recorded by 1875, American English.

THE apparatus by which the water from a reservoir is carried about over a building and delivered at points convenient for use, is called by the general name of plumbing. The word "plumbing" means lead-work; and it is used to signify this water apparatus of a house because the pipes of which it largely consists are usually made of lead. [Edward Abbott, "Long Look House: A Book for Boys and Girls," Boston, 1877]

Alternative plumbery also is mid-15c. Slang meaning "a person's reproductive organs" attested by 1975.

Word Origin and History for plumbing (1 of 4)

plumb

"lead hung on a string to show the vertical line," early 14c., from Old French *plombe, plomee "sounding lead," and directly from Late Latin *plumba, originally plural of Latin plumbum "lead (the metal), lead ball; pipe; pencil," a word of unknown origin, related to Greek molybdos "lead" (dialectal bolimos) and perhaps from an extinct Mediterranean language, perhaps Iberian.

Word Origin and History for plumbing (2 of 4)

plumb

early 15c., "to sink" (like lead), from plumb (n.). Meaning "take soundings with a plumb" is first recorded 1560s; figurative sense of "to get to the bottom of" is from 1590s. Related: Plumbed; plumbing.

Word Origin and History for plumbing (3 of 4)

plumb

adj.

"perpendicular, vertical," mid-15c., from plumb (n.). The notion of "exact measurement" led to extended sense of "completely, downright" (1748), sometimes spelled plump, plum, or plunk.

plumbing

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of plumbing

Definition for plumbing (2 of 2)

plumb

noun

adjective Also plum.

adverb Also plum.

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of plumb

Examples from the Web for plumbing

British Dictionary definitions for plumbing (1 of 2)

plumbing

noun

British Dictionary definitions for plumbing (2 of 2)

plumb

noun

adjective Also: plum

adverb Also: plum

verb

Word Origin for plumb

Word Origin and History for plumbing (1 of 4)

plumbing

Word Origin and History for plumbing (1 of 4)

plumb

Word Origin and History for plumbing (2 of 4)

plumb

Word Origin and History for plumbing (3 of 4)

plumb