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

Over the six months, the ChemSIGMA team demonstrated that their software models and sensors repeatedly and precisely tracked plumes to their source. — Dan Dubno, Popular Mechanics, "How We'll Stop Chemical Attacks," 28 Apr. 2019 The water sent a yellow-orange plume of pollution into rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. — Dan Elliott, Fox News, "3 years after Colorado mine spill, victims awaiting payment," 3 Aug. 2018 The first powerful explosion occurred at around 7:15 p.m. and sent a plume of smoke and flames into the air. — CBS News, "Natural gas explosions rock Madison, Wisconsin suburb, level buildings," 11 July 2018 The fire burned for hours, sending up a massive plume of smoke that could be seen for miles. — Christine Dempsey, courant.com, "Speaker Manufacturer Destroyed In Massive Stratford Fire," 9 July 2018 Around the corner, a team of Santa Barbara County firefighters was busy hosing down the inside of another home, sending a plume of smoke into the air. — Andrea Castillo And John Wilkens, Anchorage Daily News, "California city devastated by brush fire as record heat burns a path of destruction," 7 July 2018 The fire sent a plume of smoke 75 miles toward San Francisco. — Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, "California wildfire forces evacuations," 1 July 2018 On May 25th a major eruption sent a plume of ash nine miles into the atmosphere. — sandiegouniontribune.com, "May 26, 1980: Mount St. Helens explodes again," 26 May 2018 Laze occurs when hot lava meets the ocean, sending a plume of hydrochloric acid and steam - along with fine glass particles - into the air. — Amy B Wang, chicagotribune.com, "Lava spatter hits Hawaii man and shatters his leg in first known injury from Kilauea volcano," 20 May 2018

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.