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plunging

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plunge

  [pluhnj] verb, plunged, plung⋅ing, noun
–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.
Use plunging in a Sentence
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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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.
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Word Origin & History

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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