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Plumb

 - 4 dictionary results
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plumb

  [pluhm]
Use Plumb in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small mass of lead or other heavy material, as that suspended by a line and used to measure the depth of water or to ascertain a vertical line. Compare plumb line.
–adjective
2. true according to a plumb line; perpendicular.
3. Informal. downright or absolute.
–adverb
4. in a perpendicular or vertical direction.
5. exactly, precisely, or directly.
6. Informal. completely or absolutely: She was plumb mad. You're plumb right.
–verb (used with object)
7. to test or adjust by a plumb line.
8. to make vertical.
9. Shipbuilding. horn (def. 31).
10. to sound with or as with a plumb line.
11. to measure (depth) by sounding.
12. to examine closely in order to discover or understand: to plumb someone's thoughts.
13. to seal with lead.
14. to weight with lead.
15. to provide (a house, building, apartment, etc.) with plumbing.
–verb (used without object)
16. to work as a plumber.
—Idiom
17. out of or off plumb, not corresponding to the perpendicular; out of true.
Also, plum (for defs. 2–6).

Origin:
1250–1300; ME plumbe, prob. < AF *plombe < VL *plumba, for L plumbum lead

Related forms:
plumb⋅a⋅ble, adjective
plumbless, adjective
plumbness, noun

Synonyms:
2. vertical, straight, square.
Brooklyn Plumbing Company
2 Hour Response Time-Guaranteed. Serving Brooklyn, Call For A Quote!
YourFamilyPlumber.biz/PlumberNY
ORA Plumbing Heating Cont
Licensed Plumber. 30Yrs Experience Westchester Co-We're On The Way!
OraPlumbingHeating.net/Plumber

Plumb

  [pluhm]
–noun
J(ohn) H(arold), 1911–2001, British historian.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Plumb
plumb   (plŭm)   
n.  

  1. A weight on the end of a line, used to determine water depth.

  2. A weight on the end of a line, used especially by masons and carpenters to establish a true vertical.

adv.  

  1. In a vertical or perpendicular line.

  2. Informal Directly; squarely: fell plumb in the middle of the puddle.

  3. also plum Informal Utterly; completely: plumb worn out. See Note at right.

adj.  

  1. Exactly vertical. See Synonyms at vertical.

  2. also plum Informal Utter; absolute; sheer: a plumb fool.

v.   plumbed, plumb·ing, plumbs

v.   tr.

  1. To determine the depth of with a plumb; sound.

  2. To test the verticality or alignment of with a plumb.

  3. To straighten or make perpendicular: plumb up the wall.

  4. To examine closely or deeply; probe: "Shallow ideas are plumbed and discarded" (Gilbert Highet).

  5. To seal with lead.

v.   intr.
To work as a plumber.

[Middle English, lead, a plumb, from Old French plomb, from Latin plumbum, lead.]
plumb'a·ble adj., plumb'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

plumb  (n.)
c.1300, "lead hung on a string to show the vertical line," from O.Fr. *plombe, plomme "sounding lead," from L.L. *plumba, originally pl. of L. plumbum "lead," the metal, of unknown origin, related to Gk. molybdos "lead" (dial. bolimos), probably from an extinct Mediterranean language, perhaps Iberian. The verb is first recorded c.1380, with sense "to immerse;" meaning "take soundings with a plumb" is first recorded 1568; fig. sense of "to get to the bottom of" is from 1599. Plumb-bob is from 1835. Adj. sense of "perpendicular, vertical" is from c.1460; the notion of "exact measurement" led to extended sense of "completely, downright" (1748), sometimes spelled plump or plunk.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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