plunk down

verb

plunked down or plonked down; plunking down or plonking down; plunks down

intransitive verb

: to drop abruptly : settle into position

transitive verb

1

a

: to put down usually firmly or abruptly

plunked the items down on the counter

b

: to settle (oneself) into position

plunked himself down on the bench

2

: to pay out

reluctant to plunk down the money for a new car

Examples of plunk down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tankers and cargo ships are facing three-and-a-half day waits to enter the Panama Canal as the Iran war sparks a surge in traffic, prompting one vessel to plunk down an extra $4 million to jump to the front of the line. —Ruth Liao, Bloomberg, 16 Apr. 2026

Nearly 400,000 prospective buyers of the Model 3 had plunked down $1,000 as Tesla aimed to boost production from 100,000 to 300,000 cars annually. —John Pacenti, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

There was SimEarth in 1990, in which the player tunes a planet’s atmospheric conditions, sculpts its landmasses, plunks down life-forms. —Eric Boodman, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026

Last October, Wahlberg plunked down $27 million for a mansion in the Delray Beach area. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for plunk down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown