plumbing

1 of 2

noun

plumb·​ing ˈplə-miŋ 

1

: the act of using a plumb

2

: a plumber's occupation or trade

3

a

: the apparatus (such as pipes and fixtures) concerned in the distribution and use of water in a building

b

: an internal system that resembles plumbing

especially : one consisting of conduits or channels for conveying fluids

plumbing

2 of 2

present participle of plumb entry 3

Examples of plumbing in a Sentence

Noun

The house has old plumbing.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

More experienced tradespeople are retiring, while fewer young workers are entering fields such as welding, electrical work, plumbing, advanced manufacturing, and industrial maintenance. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026

The third major issue involved helium leaks in the propulsion system pressurization plumbing. — William Harwood, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

The organizations that handle the coming wave of autonomous systems well will be the ones that stopped treating machine identity as plumbing and started treating it as governance. — Krishnaveni Palanivelu, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026

This protects against higher costs that arise from the need to bring a home up to current building code — such as upgrades to wiring, plumbing or insulation — when rebuilding. — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 26 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing plumbing

• indoor plumbing
• plumbing fixture

Rhymes for plumbing

• coming
• cumming
• drumming
• gumming
• humming
• numbing
• strumming
• summing
• thrumming
• thumbing
• becoming
• forthcoming

Kids Definition

plumbing

noun

plumb·​ing ˈpləm-iŋ 

1

: a plumber's work

2

: a system of pipes for supplying and carrying off water in a building