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Definition of plunge - 7 dictionary results

plunge

  [pluhnj] verb, plunged, plung⋅ing, noun
Use plunge in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to cast or thrust forcibly or suddenly into something, as a liquid, a penetrable substance, a place, etc.; immerse; submerge: to plunge a dagger into one's heart.
2. to bring suddenly or forcibly into some condition, situation, etc.: to plunge a country into war; to pull a switch and plunge a house into darkness.
3. Horticulture. to place (a potted plant) up to its rim in soil or in certain other materials, as sand or moss.
4. Surveying. to transit (the telescope of a transit or theodolite).
–verb (used without object)
5. to cast oneself, or fall as if cast, into water, a hole, etc.
6. to rush or dash with headlong haste: to plunge through a crowd.
7. to bet or speculate recklessly: to plunge on the stock market.
8. to throw oneself impetuously or abruptly into some condition, situation, matter, etc.: to plunge into debt.
9. to descend abruptly or precipitously, as a cliff, road, etc.
10. to pitch violently forward, as a horse, ship, etc.
–noun
11. act of plunging.
12. a leap or dive, as into water.
13. a headlong or impetuous rush or dash: a plunge into danger.
14. a sudden, violent pitching movement.
15. a place for plunging or diving, as a swimming pool.
16. Geology. pitch (def. 48).
—Idiom
17. take the plunge, to enter with sudden decision upon an unfamiliar course of action, as after hesitation or deliberation: She took the plunge and invested her entire savings in the plan.
Origin:
1325–75; ME < MF plung(i)er ≪ VL *plumbicāre to heave the lead. See plumb

Synonyms:
1. See dip 1 . 5. dive. 6. hasten. 9. drop.

pitch

1  [pich]
–verb (used with object)
1. to erect or set up (a tent, camp, or the like).
2. to put, set, or plant in a fixed or definite place or position.
3. to throw, fling, hurl, or toss.
4. Baseball.
a. to deliver or serve (the ball) to the batter.
b. to fill the position of pitcher in (a game): He pitched a no-hitter. He pitched a good game.
c. to choose or assign as a pitcher for a game: The manager pitched Greene the next night.
5. to set at a certain point, degree, level, etc.: He pitched his hopes too high.
6. Music. to set at a particular pitch, or determine the key or keynote of (a melody).
7. Cards.
a. to lead (a card of a particular suit), thereby fixing that suit as trump.
b. to determine (the trump) in this manner.
8. to pave or revet with small stones.
9. Masonry.
a. to square (a stone), cutting the arrises true with a chisel.
b. to cut with a chisel.
10. Informal. to attempt to sell or win approval for; promote; advertise: to pitch breakfast foods at a sales convention.
11. Informal. to approach or court (as a person, company, or the public) in hope of a sale, approval, or interest; make an appeal to.
12. to cause to pitch.
13. Obsolete. to set in order; to arrange, as a field of battle.
14. Obsolete. to fix firmly as in the ground; embed.
–verb (used without object)
15. to plunge or fall forward or headlong.
16. to lurch.
17. to throw or toss.
18. Baseball.
a. to deliver or serve the ball to the batter.
b. to fill the position of pitcher: He pitched for the Mets last year.
19. to slope downward; dip.
20. to plunge with alternate fall and rise of bow and stern, as a ship (opposed to roll ).
21. (of a rocket or guided missile) to deviate from a stable flight attitude by oscillations of the longitudinal axis in a vertical plane about the center of gravity.
22. to fix a tent or temporary habitation; encamp: They pitched by a mountain stream.
23. Golf. to play a pitch shot.
24. Informal. to attempt to sell or win approval for something or someone by advertising, promotion, etc.: politicians pitching on TV.
25. Rare. to become established; settle down.
–noun
26. relative point, position, or degree: a high pitch of excitement.
27. the degree of inclination or slope; angle: the pitch of an arch; the pitch of a stair.
28. the highest point or greatest height: enjoying the pitch of success.
29. (in music, speech, etc.) the degree of height or depth of a tone or of sound, depending upon the relative rapidity of the vibrations by which it is produced.
30. Music. the particular tonal standard with which given tones may be compared in respect to their relative level.
31. Acoustics. the apparent predominant frequency sounded by an acoustical source.
32. act or manner of pitching.
33. a throw or toss.
34. Baseball. the serving of the ball to the batter by the pitcher, usually preceded by a windup or stretch.
35. a pitching movement or forward plunge, as of a ship.
36. upward or downward inclination or slope: a road descending at a steep pitch.
37. a sloping part or place: to build on the pitch of a hill.
38. a quantity of something pitched or placed somewhere.
39. Cricket. the central part of the field; the area between the wickets.
40. Informal.
a. a high-pressure sales talk: The salesman made his pitch for the new line of dresses.
b. a specific plan of action; angle: to tackle a problem again, using a new pitch.
41. the specific location in which a person or object is placed or stationed; allotted or assigned place.
42. Chiefly British. the established location, often a street corner, of a beggar, street peddler, newspaper vendor, etc.
43. Aeronautics.
a. the nosing of an airplane or spacecraft up or down about a transverse axis.
b. the distance that a given propeller would advance in one revolution.
44. (of a rocket or guided missile)
a. the motion due to pitching.
b. the extent of the rotation of the longitudinal axis involved in pitching.
45. Also called plunge. Geology. the inclination of a linear feature, as the axis of a fold or an oreshoot, from the horizontal.
46. Machinery.
a. the distance between the corresponding surfaces of two adjacent gear teeth measured either along the pitch circle (circular pitch) or between perpendiculars to the root surfaces (normal pitch).
b. the ratio of the number of teeth in a gear or splined shaft to the pitch circle diameter, expressed in inches.
c. the distance between any two adjacent things in a series, as screw threads, rivets, etc.
47. (in carpet weaving) the weftwise number of warp ends, usually determined in relation to 27 inches (68.6 cm).
48. Cards.
a. all fours (def. 2).
b. auction pitch.
49. Masonry. a true or even surface on a stone.
50. (of typewriter type) a unit of measurement indicating the number of characters to a horizontal inch: Pica is a 10-pitch type.
—Verb phrases
51. pitch in, Informal.
a. to begin to work in earnest and vigorously: If I really pitch in, I may be able to finish the paper before the deadline.
b. to contribute to a common cause; join in: When they took up a collection for the annual dinner, he promised to pitch in.
52. pitch into, Informal.
a. to attack verbally or physically: He apologized for pitching into me yesterday.
b. to begin to work on vigorously.
53. pitch on or upon, to choose, esp. casually or without forethought; decide on: We pitched on a day for our picnic.
Origin:
1175–1225; (v.) ME picchen to thrust, pierce, set, set up (a tent, etc.), array, throw; perh. akin to pick 1 ; (n.) deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
pitch⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
3. See throw.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To plunge
plunge   (plŭnj)   
v.   plunged, plung·ing, plung·es

v.   tr.

  1. To thrust or throw forcefully into a substance or place: "Plunge the lobsters, head first, into a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water" (Craig Claiborne).

  2. To cast suddenly, violently, or deeply into a given state or situation: "The street was plunged in cool shadow" (Richard Wright).

v.   intr.

  1. To fall or throw oneself into a substance or place: We plunged into the icy mountain lake.

  2. To throw oneself earnestly or wholeheartedly into an activity or situation: plunged into my studies.

  3. To enter or move headlong through something: The hunting dogs plunged into the forest.

  4. To descend steeply; fall precipitously: a cliff that plunges to the sea.

  5. To move forward and downward violently: The rider plunged from the bucking horse.

  6. To become suddenly lower; decrease dramatically: Stock prices plunged during the banking crisis.

  7. To speculate or gamble extravagantly.

n.  

  1. The act or an instance of plunging.

    1. A place or area, such as a swimming pool, for diving or plunging.

    2. A swim; a dip.


[Middle English plungen, from Old French plongier, from Vulgar Latin *plumbicāre, to heave a sounding lead, from Latin plumbum, lead.]
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

pitch  (n.)
"tar," O.E. pic, from L. pix (gen. picis) "pitch," from PIE base *pi- "sap, juice" (cf. Gk. pissa, Lith. pikis, O.C.S. piklu "pitch," related to L. pinus; see pine (n.)).

plunge  (v.)
c.1380, from O.Fr. plungier (c.1140), from V.L. *plumbicare "to heave the lead," from L. plumbum "lead" (see plumb). Original notion perhaps is of a sounding lead or a fishing net weighted with lead. Fig. use in take the plunge "commit oneself" is from 1845. Plunger as a mechanism is from 1777. Plunging neckline attested from 1949.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2pitch
Function: noun
: the property of a sound and especially a musical tone that is determined by the frequency of the waves producing it : highness or lowness of sound
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

plunge

see take the plunge.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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