From Middle English plumbe, plumme, from Old French *plombe, from Latin plumba, plural of plumbum.
Meanings
(not-comparable) In a vertical direction; perpendicularly.
Plumb down he drops. 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
'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:
Years ago the well plumb dried out, not a drop of water in there since.
bg отвесно (in a vertical direction) · fi kohtisuoraan (in a vertical direction) · bg право (squarely, completely) · bg напълно (squarely, completely) · pl wręcz (squarely, completely) · de lotrecht (in a vertical direction) · nl in het lood (in a vertical direction) · de senkrecht (in a vertical direction) · fi täysin (squarely, completely) · cmn 正 (squarely, completely) · fi suoraan (squarely, completely) · fi kohtisuorassa (in a vertical direction) · fi kokonaan (squarely, completely) · nl loodrecht (in a vertical direction) · fi kohtisuorasti (in a vertical direction)
From Middle English plumbe, plumme, from Old French *plombe, from Latin plumba, plural of plumbum.
Meanings
A little mass of lead, or the like, attached to a line, and used by builders, etc., to indicate a vertical direction.
A weight on the end of a long line, used by sailors to determine the depth of water.
The perpendicular direction or position.
Customers turned away from rickety chairs, stands of drawers that refused to open, or had no handles, lop-sided wardrobes whose doors were out of plumb or whose mirrors were cracked. 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 61:
bg отвес (mass attached to a line to indicate vertical direction) · fi lyijypaino (mass attached to a line to indicate vertical direction) · ro plumb (mass attached to a line to indicate vertical direction) · es plomada (nautical: mass attached to a line to indicate depth) · fi luoti (nautical: mass attached to a line to indicate depth) · fi luoti (mass attached to a line to indicate vertical direction) · es plomada (mass attached to a line to indicate vertical direction) · es sonda (nautical: mass attached to a line to indicate depth) · bg лот (nautical: mass attached to a line to indicate depth)
From Middle English plumbe, plumme, from Old French *plombe, from Latin plumba, plural of plumbum.
Meanings
To determine the depth, generally of a liquid; to sound.
To attach to a water supply and drain.
The kitchen sink is now plumbed in / up.
(figuratively, transitive) To think about or explore in depth, to get to the bottom of.
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:
to plumb the depths of
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:
To use a plumb bob as a measuring or aligning tool.
To accurately align vertically or horizontally.
(dated) To seal something with lead.
(intransitive) To work as a plumber.
(rare) To fall or sink like a plummet.
(US, colloquial, figuratively, obsolete) To trace a road or track; to follow it to its end.
scn acchiummari (to use plumb bob) · it appiombare (to determine the depth) · fi luodata (to determine the depth) · fi seurata (to trace a road or track) · fi liittää vesijohtoon (to attach to water supply or drain) · fi upota kuin kivi (to fall or sink like a plummet) · fi pudota kuin kivi (to fall or sink like a plummet) · tr şakullemek (to determine the depth) · ota شاقوللامق (to determine the depth) · fi rihdata (to accurately align) · fi liittää viemäriin (to attach to water supply or drain) · bg пускам отвес (to use plumb bob) · fi luodata (to use plumb bob) · bg определям дълбочината (to determine the depth) · fi syväluodata (to explore in depth) · fi olla putkimiehenä (to work as plumber) · fi juottaa lyijyllä (to seal with lead)
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: