plume

noun \ ˈplüm \

Definition of plume

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

2 a :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

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Examples of plume in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of plume from the Web

Hurricanes, on the other hand, feature mainly horizontal shear, and their convective plumes normally tower to less than 30,000 feet.

— matthew cappucci, Washington Post, "Incredible meteorological imagery from Hurricane Harvey," 26 Aug. 2017
Does Harper Lee need a posthumous nom de plume? ...

— nick canepa, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Chargers should sign Colin Kaepernick," 26 Aug. 2017
The spacecraft photographed the planets’ moons, too, revealing icy cracks on Europa, a volcanic plume on Io, and intricate terrain on Triton.

— marina koren, The Atlantic, "Voyager Made the Solar System a Real Place," 25 Aug. 2017
Astronomers concentrated on the plumes from the sun’s polar region to help understand why the solar wind speeds up so much, Penn said.

— seth borenstein, The Seattle Times, "Eclipse science: From galloping giraffes to solar wisps," 21 Aug. 2017
Linda Morabito, a navigation engineer, recalls discovering gas plumes on Jupiter’s moon Io.

— andy webster, New York Times, "Review: A True-Life Journey Into Interstellar Space in ‘The Farthest’," 10 Aug. 2017
Plumes of black smoke were seen billowing skyward outside the entrance to a private high school.

— Bloomberg.com, "Afghan Security Scrutinized After Suicide Bomber Kills 24," 24 July 2017
Wick’s Pizza, 12717 Shelbyville Road, 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 18 (Prism Petals); 975 Baxter Ave., 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 19 (Pretty Plumes).

— The Courier-Journal, "50+ fun things for week of July 13-19," 12 July 2017
A loud boom, followed by plumes of smoke gushing out the roof and windows of a home near Dauphin Island Parkway, is how 26-year-old Michelle Williams described, a rare, lightning strike that occurred on Thursday (July 6).

— prescotte stokes iii, AL.com, "Lightning strike sets a house on fire in Mobile; 12-year-old girl gets her siblings out safely," 7 July 2017

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.

Illustration of plume

Origin and Etymology of plume

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin pluma small soft feather — more at fleece

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

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plume Synonyms

Synonyms

accolade, blue ribbon, decoration, distinction, honor, kudo, award, premium, prize

Related Words

badge, crown, cup, laurel, medal, order, plaque, plate, ribbon, trophy; applause, bravo, encomium, eulogy, hallelujah, homage, paean, panegyric, plaudit, tribute; citation, commendation, compliment, honorable mention

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

plume

verb

Definition of plume

plumed; pluming

transitive verb

1 a :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)

Examples of plume in a Sentence

that jerk plumes himself on his supposed athletic skills

First Known Use of plume

15th century

plume Synonyms

Synonyms

flatter, pique, pride

Related Words

boast, brag, crow, gasconade, swagger, swank, swash, vapor, vaunt; congratulate, felicitate

Other Birds Terms

aerie, bunting, clutch, covey, hackle, ratite, rictus, ruff, skein, zygodactyl

PLUME Defined for English Language Learners

plume

noun

Definition of plume for English Language Learners

: a feather or group of feathers on a bird
: a decoration made of feathers or something similar
: something (such as smoke, steam, or water) that rises into the air in a tall, thin shape