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[pluhm-er] /ˈplʌm ər/

noun
1.
a person who installs and repairs piping, fixtures, appliances, and appurtenances in connection with the water supply, drainage systems, etc., both in and out of buildings.
2.
Slang. an undercover operative or spy hired to detect or stop leaks of news or secret information, often using questionable or illegal methods, as illegal entry or wiretapping.
3.
Obsolete. a worker in lead or similar metals.
[pluhm] /plʌm/
noun
1.
a small mass of lead or other heavy material, as that suspended by a line and used to measure the depth of water or to ascertain a vertical line.
Compare .
adjective, Also, .
2.
true according to a plumb line perpendicular.
3.
Informal. downright or absolute.
adverb, Also, .
4.
in a perpendicular or vertical direction.
5.
exactly, precisely, or directly.
6.
Informal. completely or absolutely:
She was plumb mad. You’re plumb right.
verb (used with object)
7.
to test or adjust by a plumb line.
8.
to make vertical.
9.
Shipbuilding. (def 32).
10.
to sound with or as with a plumb line.
11.
to measure (depth) by sounding.
12.
to examine closely in order to discover or understand:
to plumb someone’s thoughts.
13.
to seal with lead.
14.
to weight with lead.
15.
to provide (a house, building, apartment, etc.) with .
verb (used without object)
16.
to work as a plumber.
Idioms
17.
out of / off plumb, not corresponding to the perpendicular; out of true.
/ˈplʌmə/
noun
1.
a person who installs and repairs pipes, fixtures, etc, for water, drainage, and gas
/plʌm/
noun
1.
a weight, usually of lead, suspended at the end of a line and used to determine water depth or verticality
2.
the perpendicular position of a freely suspended plumb line (esp in the phrases out of plumb, off plumb)
adjective
3.
(prenominal) (informal, mainly US) (intensifier): a plumb nuisance
adverb
4.
in a vertical or perpendicular line
5.
(informal, mainly US) (intensifier): plumb stupid
6.
(informal) exactly; precisely (also in the phrase plumb on)
verb
7.
(transitive) often foll by up. to test the alignment of or adjust to the vertical with a plumb line
8.
(transitive) to undergo or experience (the worst extremes of misery, sadness, etc): to plumb the depths of despair
9.
(transitive) to understand or master (something obscure): to plumb a mystery
10.
to connect or join (a device such as a tap) to a water pipe or drainage system
n.

late 14c. (from c.1100 as a surname), “a worker in any sort of lead” (roofs, gutters, pipes), from Old French plomier “lead-smelter” (Modern French plombier) and directly from Latin plumbarius “worker in lead,” noun use of adjective meaning “pertaining to lead,” from plumbum “lead” (see plumb (n.)). Meaning focused 19c. on “workman who installs pipes and fittings” as lead water pipes became the principal concern of the trade. In U.S. Nixon administration (1969-74), the name of a special unit for investigation of “leaks” of government secrets.
n.

“lead hung on a string to show the vertical line,” early 14c., from Old French *plombe, plomee “sounding lead,” and directly from Late Latin *plumba, originally plural of Latin plumbum “lead (the metal), lead ball; pipe; pencil,” a word of unknown origin, related to Greek molybdos “lead” (dialectal bolimos) and perhaps from an extinct Mediterranean language, perhaps Iberian.
v.

early 15c., “to sink” (like lead), from plumb (n.). Meaning “take soundings with a plumb” is first recorded 1560s; figurative sense of “to get to the bottom of” is from 1590s. Related: Plumbed; plumbing.
adj.

“perpendicular, vertical,” mid-15c., from plumb (n.). The notion of “exact measurement” led to extended sense of “completely, downright” (1748), sometimes spelled plump, plum, or plunk.

noun

verb

To botch; ruin: I tho’t I plumbered it (1930s+)

adverb

Completely; entirely; stone: What he said was plumb silly

[1748+; fr notions of exact extent and precision associated with the plumb bob or sailor’s plumb line (for measuring depth of water), ultimately fr Latin plumbum, ”lead”]
programming, tool
A system for obtaining information about memory leaks in Ada and C programs.
(http://home.earthlink.net/~owenomalley/plumber.html).
(17 Feb 1999)