plummet
Americannoun
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plummets
plural
-
Also called plumb bob. a piece of lead or some other weight attached to a line, used for determining perpendicularity, for sounding, etc.; the bob of a plumb line.
-
something that weighs down or depresses.
verb (used without object)
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plummets,
present (3rd person singular)
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plummeted,
past participle, past
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plummeting
present participle
verb
noun
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another word for plumb bob
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a lead plumb used by anglers to determine the depth of water
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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plummetsimple
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plummetssimple
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have plummetedperfect
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has plummetedperfect
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am plummetingprogressive
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are plummetingprogressive
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is plummetingprogressive
-
have been plummetingperfect progressive
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has been plummetingperfect progressive
Past
-
plummetedsimple
-
had plummetedperfect
-
was plummetingprogressive
-
were plummetingprogressive
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had been plummetingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of plummet
1350–1400; (noun) Middle English plommet < Middle French, diminutive of plomb lead; (v.) derivative of the noun See plumb, -et
Explanation
The verb plummet means "to drop sharply," like eagles that plummet toward earth, seeking prey, or school attendance that plummets when there is a flu outbreak. To correctly pronounce plummet, say "PLUH-met." This verb describes something that drops sharply or quickly, like a roller coaster that plummets down a hill, temperatures that plummet overnight, or sales of roses and candy that plummet after Valentine's Day. If something plummets, this doesn't mean it will stay down or low forever, just that it has experienced a sharp drop.
Vocabulary lists containing plummet
List 8
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The Lightning Thief
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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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:
Seven months later, when the tool was released, its advances sparked a freakout in Silicon Valley, causing tech stocks to plummet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Those worries have caused Netflix’s stock price to plummet 41% in the last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
Most comedies plummet halfway through their second act.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
But it is having a devastating effect on rural junior schools - and Kaliluni Primary is one of more than 2,000 across the East African nation now facing possible closure as enrolment numbers plummet.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
The plummet, he recalled, sick with sudden memory.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
If we look at matches against modern-day heavyweights Australia and India, Root plummets down the list even further - down in 10th, with twice as many losses as wins.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
She doesn’t need the imprimatur of an established brand to maintain an audience; as trust in institutions plummets, such affiliations can even be a turnoff.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
Indeed, once m’lord activates Infinity Mode, range plummets below 200 miles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
But the questions the film confronts the viewer with, and the depths of American darkness it plummets to, are brash and critical.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2026
The wood stairs are damp and rickety, but Babs plummets down them, hanging on to the railing, occasionally calling for me to hurry.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The country's tourism industry has also plummeted, a key source of income for the beleaguered government.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
This month it plummeted to a historic new low since it was filled about 90 years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
According to an annual government report, the number of wiretaps obtained by DHS — often to investigate drug trafficking — plummeted to 23 in 2025, from 133 the previous year.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
This past week alone, Chief Executive Elon Musk watched as its shares plummeted almost 14% in one day—which wasn’t even the worst performance in SpaceX’s short tenure as a publicly traded company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
This time when he tried to cross, his shoe grazed the wire and he plummeted to the ground, and that was how my father immigrated to Holland.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
Beijing, as we see, has put itself in the social-engineering business again, trying to hike its plummeting population numbers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
And later: why Bitcoin’s plummeting price is costing Eric Trump hundreds of million of dollars.
From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2026
Two pit stops followed in quick succession, plummeting the Italian down the field.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
In the Need to Know newsletter, Barbara Kollmeyer explained how one veteran trader was buying energy stocks even as oil prices were plummeting.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
She had good reason: The least slip would send her plummeting to rocky ground.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
