plumb
part of speech
verb (plumb, plumbs, plumbed, plumbing); adverb (plumb — informal); noun (a plumb, plumb line); adjective (plumb)
meaning for a pupil
1) (verb) To fit water pipes in a building: «plumb in a washing machine». tree →
2) (noun) A weight on a string (a plumb line or plumb bob) used to check that something is exactly vertical or to measure depth. tree →
3) (adjective) Exactly vertical, perfectly upright. tree →
4) (verb) To measure the depth of water; «plumb the depths» means reach the deepest or worst point. tree →
5) (informal, adverb, mainly US) Completely or exactly: «plumb crazy», «plumb in the middle». tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and DT lessons, a plumb line shows the true vertical because gravity pulls the weight straight down. Builders use it for walls. Sailors once used a weighted line to plumb the depth. Plumbers fit pipes. In everyday talk: «plumb the depths of despair».
examples
- The builder used a plumb line to check the wall. tree →
- The wall is not plumb; it leans. tree →
- Dad plumbed in the new dishwasher. tree →
- Sailors plumbed the depth of the river. tree →
- Gravity pulls the plumb bob straight down. tree →
- «You're plumb crazy!» said the cowboy. tree →
- The ball landed plumb in the middle of the target. tree →
note
The «b» is silent: say PLUM. Homophone trap: «plum» (the fruit). Plumber, plumbing come from Latin «plumbum», lead, because old pipes were made of lead (chemical symbol Pb).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «plumb» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.