plummet
Americannoun
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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)
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
- unplummeted adjective
Etymology
Origin of plummet
1350–1400; (noun) Middle English plommet < Middle French, diminutive of plomb lead; (v.) derivative of the noun See plumb, -et
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.
Because it doesn’t spin like a slider, batters often read it as a fastball out of the pitcher’s hand—only for the ball to plummet into the dirt at the last possible moment.
The ground was being swept out from under him and he was plummeting through open air.
From Literature
The club was relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2018-2019 season and then plummeted further to League One in April 2025.
From BBC
Had the better of Mercedes team-mate George Russell in qualifying but another poor start saw him plummet down the order to sixth.
From BBC
Within two years, though, his fortunes plummeted once more.
From BBC
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.
