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| plumb [ plum ] |
noun (plural plumbs) |
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| Definition: |
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1. weight attached to line: a weight, usually made of lead, attached to a line and used to find the depth of water or to verify a true vertical alignment
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2. true vertical position: a true vertical position or alignment
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adverb |
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| Definition: |
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1. in true vertical position: in perfect alignment or a true vertical position
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2. exactly: precisely or exactly
(
informal
)
  plumb in the middle
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3. completely: utterly or totally
(
informal
)
plumb lazy
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adjective |
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| Definition: |
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1. vertical: in a true vertical alignment
Hanging the striped wallpaper he made sure the stripes were plumb.
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2. total: utter or total
(
informal
)
It is plumb foolishness to try that at home.
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transitive verb (past and past participle plumbed, present participle plumb·ing, 3rd person present singular plumbs) |
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| Definition: |
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1. fully comprehend something: to succeed in fully understanding something, especially something mysterious
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2. experience something to extreme degree: to experience something, especially something unpleasant, to an extreme degree
had plumbed the depths of despair
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3. use plumb to check something: to find the depth of water or the vertical alignment of something with a plumb
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4. make something vertical: to make something properly vertical
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5. construction install plumbing in something: to equip something with plumbing, seal pipes with lead, or work as a plumber
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| [13th century. Via Old French plomb "lead weight" < Latin plumbum "lead"] |
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