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Definition of plumbing - 5 dictionary results

plumb⋅ing

[pluhm-ing]
–noun
1. the system of pipes and other apparatus for conveying water, liquid wastes, etc., as in a building.
2. the work or trade of a plumber.
3. act of a person who plumbs, as in ascertaining depth.

Origin:
1660–70; plumb + -ing 1

plumb

[pluhm]
–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.
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


plumb⋅a⋅ble, adjective
plumbless, adjective
plumbness, noun


2. vertical, straight, square.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To plumbing
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.
plumb·ing   (plŭm'ĭng)   
n.  
  1. The pipes, fixtures, and other apparatus of a water, gas, or sewage system in a building.

  2. The work or trade of a plumber.

  3. Informal An arrangement of bodily vessels or ducts: "treating stroke victims by reversing the plumbing of the body's circulatory system" (Associated Press).

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
Computing Dictionary

plumbing
(Unix) Term used for shell code, so called because of the prevalence of "pipelines" that feed the output of one program to the input of another. Under Unix, user utilities can often be implemented or at least prototyped by a suitable collection of pipelines and temporary file grinding encapsulated in a shell script. This is much less effort than writing C every time, and the capability is considered one of Unix's major winning features. A few other operating systems such as IBM's VM/CMS support similar facilities.
The tee utility is specifically designed for plumbing.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-02-23)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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