'plumb
line noun a piece of thick string
with a weight attached to one end, used to find the depth of water or to test
whether a wall, etc. is straight (
aw) mmm,
plume
/plurm/
noun 1 a cloud of sth
that rises and curves upwards in the air :
a
plume of smoke
2
a large feather a black hat with
an ostrich plume Hir —A' 3 a group of feathers or long
thin pieces of material tied together and often used as a decoration (
W 37 -%, 37Wfa; 33 — see also nom
de plume
plumed
/‘pluimd/
adj. having or decorated
with a plume or plumes # 33 A W; ffl 33 ft tfr
W: a
plumed helmet — S!]33tfp^i
plum-met
/'plAmit/
verb [V] to fall suddenly and quickly from a high level or position H Sk ; i§ I# BTl plunge : Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. Jj£ ® iff l& H %k III Efj ft M. o O Her spirits plummeted at
the thought of meeting him again. — H f !j X H JE fij
ftfe, MWftfifJlJL&ft'tfi,, 0 The jet plummeted into a row of houses.
plummy
/'piAmi/
adj. 1 (BrE, informal, usually disapproving) (of a voice # h ) having a sound that is typical of upper-class
English people ill| W; W: a
plummy accent — g>j jjfr % W ® US 2
like a
plump /plAmp/ od/'., verb
■
adj. (plump er, plump-est) 1
having a soft, round body; slightly fat ft$£W; #|[$W: a short, plump woman * AJUJftW&A 0
a plump
face f&tiWffiife
2 looking soft, full and attractive to use or eat ft W; ft iji W; tftii W: plump cushions ft Wife A 0 plump tomatoes MM Wif/liq ►plump-ness noun [U]
mverb [VN] ~ sth (up) to make sth
larger, softer and rounder fH $ A; {£ M ; fel jg HI: He leaned forward while the
nurse plumped up his pillows. {ikjiwJ 6% T $
A,
it. idfls4ri ' plump for sb/sth
(,informal) to choose sb/sth from
a number of people or things, especially after thinking carefully tHJrMAS;
plum
'pudding noun [u, C] (old-fashioned, BrE) = Christmas pudding
,plum
to'mato noun an Italian tomato
that is long and thin, rather than round ( JcAf'J ) plun der /'plAnda(r)/ verb, noun
■
verb to steal things from
a place, especially using force during a time of war ( A3b /fcSLN'ii® A ) ffttfe,
HTTl loot : [V] The troops crossed the country, plundering and
looting as they went.
0 [VN] The abbey had been plundered of its
valuables. ^ W 5Mtfe $ -* o — compare pillage
► plun- der-er noun
m noun [U] 1 the act of
plundering ft ft; ft # 2 things that have been stolen, especially during a war,
etc. ( A tit $;#-ft ) ft^.WWTI^ — compare pillage
plunge
/plAnd3/ verb, noun
m verb 1 {+adv./prep.] to move or make sb/sth
move suddenly forwards and/or downwards itiRT1
(
T
^ ) : [V] She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death, /A 100 £RWi^t&T#5ETo
o [VN] The earthquake plunged entire towns over
the edge
of the cuffs. 2 m
(of prices, temperatures, etc. ftft, to decrease
suddenly and quickly iife; H |$$; ^ ^ PI771 plummet: Stock markets plunged at the news of the coup.
3 [V +adv./prep.} (of a road, surface,
etc. 11 j& , ^ M to slope down
steeply &|lll||itfe WT{®$3: The track plunged down into the valley. IDM CU #o 4 [V] to move up
and down suddenly and violently ( ®]$1 ) MW.,
The horse plunged and reared. S,®ffllill
open and eager swimmers plunged in.
carefully
about what you are doing ifSA; jg $
ff : She
was about to plunge into her story when the phone rang. MJWE-jlqAfei£i$To 0 He’s always plunging in at
the deep end (= becoming involved in difficult situations without
being well enough prepared), fife M M # A M It»
.plunge
sth in |
.plunge
sth into sth to
push sth quickly and with force into sth else S/jffiA; fUS: She plunged the knife deep
into his chest. M fG.77 A Jft $0 life W y It o .plunge 'into sth 1 = plunge in 2 to experience sth
unpleasant ^5 jfj, If] A ( A
fA (K) y ) : The country plunged deeper into recession, gfl A
Sit)®—^PSA^'/^^^Ao .plunge sb/sth ’into sth to make sb/sth
experience sth unpleasant fjgj&'fff, If] A ( A 'ft A1# ) : The news plunged them into
deep depression. & A #1 IP
{$ fife 17 'M ifS M ^ 0
0 There
was
a flash of lightning and the house was plunged into darkness. WfelXJiii J^APSA^AMBhAAo
■
noun [usually sing.] 1 a sudden movement
downwards or away from sth
calm water ends there and the river begins a headlong plunge. A# A»r, ff MT
«
2
~ (in sth) a sudden decrease in an amount or the value of sth ( ffrfc, Mlft ) WM HE!
drop: a dramatic plunge in profits fj/l'f 3 ~ into sth
the act of becoming involved in a situation or activity# A; #% The company is planning a
deeper plunge into the commercial market. & A JEif $J ® • A
K A ^ ik A Tk o 4
an act of jumping or diving into
water; a quick swim 7jc ; 1& il M : He took the plunge into the
deep end.
[MkA^TKE.* o She went for a plunge. MAiW'bkT„ IT>T?71 take the ’plunge (informal) to decide to do sth
important or difficult, especially after thinking about it for a long time (
‘plunge
pool noun a small deep
artificial pool filled with cold water, especially one that you jump into in
order to get cooler after a sauna (
aw ) ’^7kttfe
plun
ger /'plAnd3a(r)/
noun 1 a part of a
piece of equipment that can be pushed down ttH; jglg — picture o cafetiere, laboratory 2 a piece of
equipment used for clearing kitchen and bathroom pipes, that consists of a
rubber cup fixed to a handle ( ikillfilTB W > Wf
plun
ging /'plAnd3ir)/ adj. (of a dress, blouse, etc.
M,
A cut in a deep V shape at the front
W;
[HlWJ; a plunging neckline Uf
plunk
/plAqk/
verb [VN] (informal) 1 [+adv./prep.] (NAmE) = plonk v.: He plunked the package down
on the desk. fife 7E & Mi
noun: the plunk, plunk of the banjo W ^ A
IJihlfi plunk down sth to pay money for sth,
especially a large amount SAAT; RHA
plu
per fect /,plu:‘p3:fikt;
NAmE -'p3:rf-/ noun {grammar ®A) = PAST PERFECT
plural
/'pluaral;
NAmE 'plural/ noun, adj.
m noun {grammar iff A) {abbr. pi.) a form of a noun or
verb that refers to more than one person or thing ( £ ifc ^ m W ) % m , The plural of ‘child’ is
‘children’. * child —children0
0 The
verb should be in the plural.
—
compare singular n.
adj. 1 {grammar i§ A) {abbr. pi.) connected with or
having the plural form Most
plural nouns in English end in ‘s’. W
s^lo 2 relating to more than one a plural society (= one with more
than one racial, religious, etc.
group) AAA A
plur
al ism /'pluarolizom;
NAmE 'plur-/ noun [U] {formal) 1 the existence of many
different groups of people in one society, for example people of different
races or of different political or religious beliefs AAA, A A14
( aiw]#$l ):
cultural pluralism Aft