plumb
verb
[ plʌm ]
• measure (the depth of a body of water).
• "I plumbed the depth and found the bottom of the shelf to be seven metres down"
• test (an upright surface) to determine the vertical.
• "they are valuable aids in plumbing the frames and keeping the side of the ship fair"
plumb
noun
• a ball of lead or other heavy object attached to the end of a line for finding the depth of water or determining the vertical on an upright surface.
plumb
adverb
• exactly.
• "trading opportunities plumb in the centre of central Europe"
Similar:
right,
exactly,
precisely,
directly,
dead,
straight,
without interruption,
bang,
slap,
slap bang,
smack,
• vertically.
• "drapery fell from their human forms plumb down"
Similar:
vertically,
perpendicularly,
straight up,
straight up and down,
plumb
adjective
• vertical.
• "ensure that the skirting is straight and plumb"
Origin:
Middle English (originally in the sense ‘sounding lead’): via Old French from Latin plumbum ‘lead’.
plumb
verb
• install an appliance such as a bath, toilet, or washing machine and connect to water and drainage pipes.
• "he had plumbed in a second-hand washing machine"
Origin:
late 19th century (in the sense ‘work as a plumber’): back-formation from plumber.
