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:
In my mind, a fire extinguisher often gets put into the same “essentials” bucket as a plunger for your house: You should probably buy one before you need it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
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
Without hesitating, I jam the needle into Peeta's arm and slowly press down on the plunger.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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
Cold plungers tend to speak in the evangelical tone of the convert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
I always pulled on the little plungers to see if chocolate bars would appear magically without the requisite pennies.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2022
Alex has people ask her to sign plungers when she's out and about.
From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2019
“Excuse me, I got a shipment of plungers I need to unpack.”
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
