plunger
Americannoun
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plungers
plural
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Machinery. a pistonlike reciprocating part moving within the cylinder of a pump or hydraulic device.
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Automotive. a pistonlike part in the valve of a pneumatic tire.
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Also called plumber's helper. Also called plumber's friend,. Also called force cup. a device consisting of a handle with a rubber suction cup at one end, used as a force pump to free clogged drains and toilet traps.
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a person or thing that plunges.
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a reckless bettor or speculator.
noun
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a rubber suction cup fixed to the end of a rod, used to clear blocked drains
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a device or part of a machine that has a plunging or thrusting motion; piston
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informal a reckless gambler
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of plunger
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:
Simmons compares the effect to pulling back the plunger on a sealed syringe filled with water.
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026
You can’t just burn you house down and walk away, so you grab a plunger.
From Slate ● Apr. 7, 2025
“We wanted to, you know, really roll with it,” said Zach D’Angelo, dressed as a giant roll of toilet paper with a red plunger as his hat.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
After breaking the Dalek, the Doctor hands a plunger from his Tardis which marks the "origins of the iconic Dalek arm", the Doctor Who official Twitter page said.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2023
The idea was you put one hose into the in-board water, ran the other hose over the side, and worked the plunger handle until the water was gone.
From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen
To be fair, investors, from the smallest retail plungers to the biggest institutions, commonly “mark to market” their unsold stock and bond holdings, counting them as part of their net worth at their current prices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The other women on the beach are dedicated cold plungers; their WhatsApp group contains the words “polar” and “sunrise.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Later, after the man recovered at San Francisco General Hospital, his son gave the doctors there some advice: Put toilet plungers next to all of the beds in the coronary unit.
From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
Blue Cube’s offerings include a $15,999 Mini-Me cold plunge designed for home use and a $26,999 Malibu 56 model that can handle multiple plungers per day in a spa environment.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2022
My feet swell big and heavy like plungers, but I drag them across the linoleum floor straight center where Uncle wants to show off the new dance we learned.
From "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros
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.
