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definitions

plum

1
[pluhm]
See more synonyms for plum on Thesaurus.com
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, plum·mer, plum·mest.
  1. extremely desirable, rewarding, profitable, or the like: a plum job in the foreign service.

Origin of plum

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English plūme (cognate with German Pflaume) ≪ Greek proûmnon plum, proúmnē plum tree; cf. prune1
Related formsplum·like, adjective
Can be confusedplum plumb

plum

2
[pluhm]
adjective, adverb
  1. plumb(defs 2–6).
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for plummer

comfy, color, mauve, plum, lilac, lavender, periwinkle, violet, heliotrope, pomegranate, mulberry, amethyst, magenta, wine, orchid, violaceous, agreeable, easy, pleasant, soft

Examples from the Web for plummer

Contemporary Examples of plummer

Historical Examples of plummer

  • Dr Plummer stared at the boy as if he had been a wild beast.

    Tom, Dick and Harry

    Talbot Baines Reed

  • To his surprise Dr Plummer did not strike, but returned quietly to his desk.

    Tom, Dick and Harry

    Talbot Baines Reed

  • Dr Plummer was just about to make a communication when I made my belated entry.

    Tom, Dick and Harry

    Talbot Baines Reed

  • “I hoped it would be unnecessary to ask the question twice,” said Dr Plummer.

    Tom, Dick and Harry

    Talbot Baines Reed

  • The plummer was hear twice yisterday and the cutworms is awfle.

British Dictionary definitions for plummer

plum

1
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 stoneSee also greengage, damson
  2. the fruit of this tree
  3. a raisin, as used in a cake or pudding
    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
Derived Formsplumlike, adjective

Word Origin for plum

Old English plūme; related to Latin prunum, German Pflaume

plum

2
adjective, adverb
  1. a variant spelling of plumb (def. 3), plumb (def. 4), plumb (def. 5), plumb (def. 6)
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 plummer

plum

n.

Old English plume "plum, plum tree," from an early Germanic borrowing (cf. Middle Dutch prume, Dutch pruim, Old High German pfluma, pfruma, German Pflaume) from Vulgar Latin *pruna, from Latin prunum "plum," from Greek prounon, later form of proumnon, of unknown origin, perhaps from an Asiatic language (Phrygian?). Also cf. prune (n.). Change of pr- to pl- is peculiar to Germanic. The vowel shortened in early modern English. Meaning "something desirable" is first recorded 1780, probably in reference to the sugar-rich bits of a plum pudding, etc.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper