plumber
Use Plumber in a sentence
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ər noun
1.
a person who installs and repairs piping, fixtures, appliances, and appurtenances in connection with the water supply, drainage systems, etc., both in and out of buildings.
2.
Slang. an undercover operative or spy hired to detect or stop leaks of news or secret information, often using questionable or illegal methods, as illegal entry or wiretapping.
3.
Obsolete. a worker in lead or similar metals.
00:10
Plumber
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
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 Also, plum.
2.
true according to a plumb line; perpendicular.
3.
Informal. downright or absolute.
adverb Also, plum.
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.
10.
to sound with or as with a plumb line.
11.
to measure (depth) by sounding.
verb (used without object)
Idioms 16.
to work as a plumber.
17.
out of/off plumb, not corresponding to the perpendicular; out of true.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English plumbe, probably < Anglo-French *plombe < Vulgar Latin *plumba, for Latin plumbum lead
1250–1300; Middle English plumbe, probably < Anglo-French *plombe < Vulgar Latin *plumba, for Latin plumbum lead
Related forms
plumb·a·ble, adjective
plumb·less, adjective
plumb·ness, noun
re·plumb, verb (used with object)
un·plumb, adjective
Synonyms
2. vertical, straight, square.
2. vertical, straight, square.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To plumber
Collins
World English Dictionary
plumb (plʌm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a weight, usually of lead, suspended at the end of a line and used to determine water depth or verticality |
| 2. | the perpendicular position of a freely suspended plumb line (esp in the phrases out of plumb, off plumb) |
| —adj | |
| 3. | informal chiefly (US) (prenominal) (intensifier): a plumb nuisance |
| —adv | |
| 4. | in a vertical or perpendicular line |
| 5. | informal chiefly (US) (intensifier): plumb stupid |
| 6. | informal exactly; precisely (also in the phrase plumb on) |
| —vb (often foll by up) | |
| 7. | to test the alignment of or adjust to the vertical with a plumb line |
| 8. | (tr) to undergo or experience (the worst extremes of misery, sadness, etc): to plumb the depths of despair |
| 9. | (tr) to understand or master (something obscure): to plumb a mystery |
| 10. | to connect or join (a device such as a tap) to a water pipe or drainage system |
| [C13: from Old French plomb (unattested) lead line, from Old French plon lead, from Latin plumbum lead] | |
| 'plumbable | |
| —adj | |
| plumber (ˈplʌmə) | |
| —n | |
| a person who installs and repairs pipes, fixtures, etc, for water, drainage, and gas | |
| [C14: from Old French plommier worker in lead, from Late Latin plumbārius, from Latin plumbum lead] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
plumb
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.
plumber
c.1100, "a worker in any sort of lead," from O.Fr. plummier (Fr. plombier), from L. plumbarius "worker in lead," properly an adj., "pertaining to lead," from plumbum "lead" (see plumb). Meaning shifted 19c. to "workman who installs pipes and fittings" as lead water pipes became
the principal concern of the trade. In U.S. Nixon administration (1969-74), the name of a special unit for investigation of "leaks" of government secrets. Plumbing "water pipes" is first recorded 1884.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
Plumber definition
programming, toolA system for obtaining information about memory leaks in Ada and C programs.
(http://home.earthlink.net/~owenomalley/plumber.html).
(17 Feb 1999)
Example sentences
If you're a plumber, you've got to have a lot of different wrenches and you've got to know how to use them.
Today she is on a high-and-low search for the plumber.
They wouldn't have introduced the article in the same way if you'd been a plumber or even a heart surgeon.
If your plumber leaves the couch floating in the rec room, you have a bad plumber.
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