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plumb

Pronunciation: /plʌm/

The English word “plumb” has 17 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A little mass of lead, or the like, attached to a line, and used by builders, etc., to indicate a vertical direction.
  2. A weight on the end of a long line, used by sailors to determine the depth of water.
  3. The perpendicular direction or position.

adjective

  1. Truly vertical, as indicated by a plumb line.
  2. Describing an LBW where the batsman is hit on the pads directly in front of their wicket and should be given out.

adverb

  1. In a vertical direction; perpendicularly.
  2. Squarely, directly; deeply, completely.

verb

  1. To determine the depth, generally of a liquid; to sound.
  2. To attach to a water supply and drain.
  3. To think about or explore in depth, to get to the bottom of.
  4. To use a plumb bob as a measuring or aligning tool.
  5. To accurately align vertically or horizontally.
  6. To seal something with lead.
  7. To work as a plumber.
  8. To fall or sink like a plummet.
  9. To trace a road or track; to follow it to its end.
  10. To position vertically above or below.

Etymology

From Middle English plumbe, plumme, from Old French *plombe, from Latin plumba, plural of plumbum.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.