plume

noun

\ ˈplüm

Definition of plume

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a feather of a bird: such as

a : a large conspicuous or showy feather

b : contour feather

c : plumage

d : a cluster of distinctive feathers

2a : material (such as a feather, cluster of feathers, or a tuft of hair) worn as an ornament

b : a token of honor or prowess : prize

3 : something resembling a feather (as in shape, appearance, or lightness): such as

a : a plumose appendage of a plant

b : an elongated and usually open and mobile column or band (as of smoke, exhaust gases, or blowing snow)

c : an animal structure having a main shaft bearing many hairs or filamentous parts especially : a full bushy tail

d : any of several columns of molten rock rising from the earth's lower mantle that are theorized to drive tectonic plate movement and to underlie hot spots

plume

verb

plumed; pluming

Definition of plume (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to provide or deck with feathers

b : to array showily

2 : to indulge (oneself) in pride with an obvious or vain display of self-satisfaction

3 of a bird

a : to preen and arrange the feathers of (itself)

b : to preen and arrange (feathers)

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Examples of plume in a Sentence

Noun

a hat with bright ostrich plumes the Nobel Prize for Literature is the plume that all authors covet

Verb

that jerk plumes himself on his supposed athletic skills

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Heavy flames and a large plume of smoke were visible as the two-story home quickly crumbled to the ground after the Monday morning explosion in Ridgefield. — Washington Post, "The Latest: Off-duty cop may have saved house blast victim," 17 June 2019 The ship is reportedly on fire, trailing a large plume of smoke. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Two Oil Tankers Attacked in the Middle East, U.S. Destroyer Rescues Crew," 13 June 2019 Old Faithful Few sights in Yellowstone match that of watching Old Faithful: a huge plume of steam and water gushing out of the ground and shooting 100-184 feet into the air. — Niloufer Venkatraman, National Geographic, "6 can’t-miss stops in Yellowstone National Park," 13 June 2019 Yes, there’s a plume of smoke that billows out from an open nuclear reactor. — Elena Nicolaou, refinery29.com, ""The Truth Isn't A Game:" Chernobyl Creator Craig Mazin On What The Year's Most Powerful Show Can Teach Us," 5 June 2019 The implosion, which took 16 seconds, created a thick plume of dust that lingered for several minutes. — Michael Rubinkam, The Seattle Times, "Defunct steelmaker’s 21-story headquarters imploded," 19 May 2019 When this happens, water boils away, and the resulting reactions produce a noxious plume of steam, hydrochloric acid, and shards of volcanic glass. — Maya Wei-haas, Smithsonian, "A Brief Glossary of Volcano Vocab," 25 May 2018 The plume was caught on May 4th, at 10:54 local time, on the Hodo Peninsula north of the North Korean city of Wonsan. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Satellite Startup Accidentally Spots Secret North Korean Missile Test," 7 May 2019 The Lashes Have It At Valentino, hearts stopped for many reasons, not least of which were the larger-the-life plume lashes dreamily flitting about. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "7 Couture Beauty Looks That Defined the Paris Runways," 24 Jan. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Ash plumes shooting thousands of feet into the sky from the summit have raised concerns about air quality. — Heidi Chang, latimes.com, "Evacuations ordered in Hawaii as fast-moving lava threatens neighborhoods," 1 June 2018 Winds blew much of the 30,000-foot (9,100-meter) plume away from people. — Fox News, "The Latest: No end in sight for Hawaii's erupting volcano," 18 May 2018 An early morning 18-wheeler crash Sunday (May 13) on eastbound Interstate 10 in St. Martin Parish has left lanes closed and smoke pluming into the air, according to Louisiana State Police. — Hanna Krueger, NOLA.com, "I-10 east closed in St. Martin Parish after 18-wheeler crash: State Police," 13 May 2018 This occurred when exhaust plumes from the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage depleted plasma levels across a 900-km wide area, which the scientists say probably caused about a 1-meter error in GPS navigation programs. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "SpaceX launch last year punched huge, temporary hole in the ionosphere," 22 Mar. 2018 Heavy black smoke plumed from the building by the time fire crews arrived. — Keri Blakinger, Houston Chronicle, "Fryer sparks overnight fire at Houston tofu maker's warehouse," 10 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'plume.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.