plumb
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.
true according to a plumb line perpendicular.
Informal. downright or absolute.
in a perpendicular or vertical direction.
exactly, precisely, or directly.
Informal. completely or absolutely: She was plumb mad. You're plumb right.
to test or adjust by a plumb line.
to make vertical.
Shipbuilding. horn (def. 32).
to sound with or as with a plumb line.
to measure (depth) by sounding.
to examine closely in order to discover or understand: to plumb someone's thoughts.
to seal with lead.
to weight with lead.
to provide (a house, building, apartment, etc.) with plumbing.
to work as a plumber.
Idioms about plumb
out of / off plumb, not corresponding to the perpendicular; out of true.
Origin of plumb
1Other words for plumb
Other words from plumb
- plumb·a·ble, adjective
- plumbless, adjective
- plumbness, noun
- re·plumb, verb (used with object)
- un·plumb, adjective
Words that may be confused with plumb
- plum, plumb
Other definitions for Plumb (2 of 2)
J(ohn) H(arold), 1911–2001, British historian.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for plumb
/ (plʌm) /
a weight, usually of lead, suspended at the end of a line and used to determine water depth or verticality
the perpendicular position of a freely suspended plumb line (esp in the phrases out of plumb, off plumb)
(prenominal) informal, mainly US (intensifier): a plumb nuisance
in a vertical or perpendicular line
informal, mainly US (intensifier): plumb stupid
informal exactly; precisely (also in the phrase plumb on)
(tr often foll by up) to test the alignment of or adjust to the vertical with a plumb line
(tr) to undergo or experience (the worst extremes of misery, sadness, etc): to plumb the depths of despair
(tr) to understand or master (something obscure): to plumb a mystery
to connect or join (a device such as a tap) to a water pipe or drainage system
Origin of plumb
1Derived forms of plumb
- plumbable, adjective
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
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