plummet
[pluhm-it]
- 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.
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- to plunge.
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Origin of plummet
Synonyms
See more synonyms for plummet on Thesaurus.com3. fall, dive, drop, swoop.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for plummeting
Contemporary Examples
Ratings for talent competitions like Idol, once viewership juggernauts, are plummeting.
Nigel Lythgoe on How to Save Reality TV, ‘On the Town,’ and ‘Brokeback Ballroom’Kevin Fallon
October 22, 2014
Oh, and car sales, far from plummeting, have soared to levels not seen since 2007.
The Chicken Littles Are Wrong: Environmental Regulations Always Spur InnovationDaniel Gross
June 9, 2014
And then they deploy, plummeting to earth to kill a bunch of people who may or may not deserve it.
As a result, the deficit has been plummeting rapidly—in real terms, and as a percentage of gross domestic product.
A woman who lives on the 29th floor also would report seeing a plummeting body.
Historical Examples
Keeping his eyes glued on the plummeting altimeter, he got his left foot up and kicked out the side window.
Beyond The ThunderH. B. Hickey
Stan opened up and saw an aileron flutter away from the plummeting fighter.
A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F.Rutherford G. Montgomery
The gunners on board the battleship were taking notice and frantically trying to swing guns to bear upon the plummeting Hawk.
A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F.Rutherford G. Montgomery
Stan sucked in a deep breath and looked down at the plummeting Heinkel.
A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F.Rutherford G. Montgomery
She felt like a bird in flight suddenly struck by an arrow and plummeting to earth.
The Saracen: The Holy WarRobert Shea
plummet
- (intr) to drop down; plunge
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- another word for plumb bob
- a lead plumb used by anglers to determine the depth of water
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French plommet ball of lead, from plomb lead, from Latin plumbum
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 plummeting
plummet
n.
late 14c., "ball of lead, plumb of a bob-line," from Old French plomet "graphite, lead; plummet, sounding lead," diminutive of plom "sounding lead" (see plumb (n.)).
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plummet
v.
1620s, "to fathom, take soundings," from plummet (n.). Meaning "to fall rapidly" first recorded 1933, perhaps originally among aviators. Related: Plummeted; plummeting.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper