Definition of "plumb"

plumb¹

/plʌm/

adjective
comparative more plumb, superlative most plumb
1. Truly vertical, as indicated by a plumb line.
2. (cricket) Describing an LBW where the batsman is hit on the pads directly in front of their wicket and should be given out.
adverb
not comparable
1. In a vertical direction; perpendicularly.
  Quotations
  Plumb down he drops.
  1667, John Milton, “(please specify the book number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
2. (informal) Squarely, directly; deeply, completely.
  Quotations
  'Are you sure of that, M. Hardman?' 'I'm plumb certain.'.
  1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 9, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 143
noun
plural plumbs
1. A little mass of lead, or the like, attached to a line, and used by builders, etc., to indicate a vertical direction.
2. (nautical) A weight on the end of a long line, used by sailors to determine the depth of water.
3. The perpendicular direction or position.
verb
third-person singular simple present plumbs, present participle plumbing, simple past and past participle plumbed
1. To determine the depth, generally of a liquid; to sound.
2. To attach to a water supply and drain.
3. (transitive, figurative) To think about or explore in depth, to get to the bottom of, especially to plumb the depths of.
  Quotations
  Delving to the core of her heart, his blue-green eyes plumbed her psyche, stripping it of all defenses, all resolve.
  2011, Catherine Lanigan, The Texan
  The pressure had been on City, on Guardiola, to deliver the trophy that Sheikh Mansour has craved since his takeover in 2008 but it was an occasion when the manager found a new way to lose, to plumb fresh depths of frustration.
  2021 May 29, David Hytner, “Chelsea win Champions League after Kai Havertz stuns Manchester City”, in The Guardian‎
4. To use a plumb bob as a measuring or aligning tool.
5. To accurately align vertically or horizontally.
6. (dated) To seal something with lead.
7. (intransitive) To work as a plumber.
8. (rare) To fall or sink like a plummet.
9. (US, colloquial, figuratively, obsolete) To trace a road or track; to follow it to its end.
10. (nautical) To position vertically above or below.

plumb²

/plʌm/

noun
plural plumbs
1. Obsolete form of plum (“the fruit”).
  Quotations
  Without attending to sub-divisions, all the pears are of one species, as well as all the apples, plumbs, peaches, cherries, lemons, citrons, oranges […]
  1767, Select Essays on Husbandry

Definition of "plumb"

plumb1

adjective

adverb

Quotations

Quotations

noun

verb

Quotations

plumb2

noun

Quotations

plumb¹

plumb²