plummet

[ pluhm-it ]

/ ˈplʌm ɪt /

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See synonyms for: plummet / plummeted / plummeting on Thesaurus.com

noun

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)

to plunge.

OTHER WORDS FOR plummet

3 fall, dive, drop, swoop.

See synonyms for plummet on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of plummet

1350–1400; (noun) Middle English plommet<Middle French, diminutive of plomb lead; (v.) derivative of the noun See plumb, -et

OTHER WORDS FROM plummet

un·plum·met·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use plummet in a sentence

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|DAILY BEAST
Oh, and car sales, far from plummeting, have soared to levels not seen since 2007.
The Chicken Littles Are Wrong: Environmental Regulations Always Spur Innovation|Daniel Gross|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And then they deploy, plummeting to earth to kill a bunch of people who may or may not deserve it.
Hollywood’s War on Drones|Andrew Romano|May 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As a result, the deficit has been plummeting rapidly—in real terms, and as a percentage of gross domestic product.
The Deficit Excuse Is Fading Fast|Daniel Gross|January 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A woman who lives on the 29th floor also would report seeing a plummeting body.
Dmitriy Kanarikov Kills Himself, Son in Fall From New York City Tower|Michael Daly|December 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Birds sang in the trees while quail scurried across the road or took off in their short plummeting flights.
Ticktock and Jim|Keith Robertson
Don had a glimpse of Professor Garet's machine plummeting down in the midst of most of Superior's vehicular population.
And Then the Town Took Off|Richard Wilson
Bending over he seized the first of the gleaming cubes and hurled it over the edge of the crater, saw it start plummeting down.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930|Various
Undaunted, he tried again, and again it happened—the stone went plummeting.
The Beginning|Henry Hasse
"You'll see their power come plummeting to earth if I can work the machine," said John urgently.
The Buttoned Sky|Geoff St. Reynard

British Dictionary definitions for plummet

plummet

/ (ˈplʌmɪt) /

verb -mets, -meting or -meted

(intr) to drop down; plunge

noun

another word for plumb bob

a lead plumb used by anglers to determine the depth of water

Word Origin for plummet

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

plummet

OTHER WORDS FOR plummet

Origin of plummet

OTHER WORDS FROM plummet

Words related to plummet

How to use plummet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plummet

Word Origin for plummet