plummet

verb

plum·met | \ ˈplə-mət

plummeted; plummeting; plummets

Definition of plummet

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to fall perpendicularly birds plummeted down

2 : to drop sharply and abruptly prices plummeted

plummet

noun

Definition of plummet (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : plumb also : plumb line

2 : an abrupt drop : an instance of plummeting a sharp plummet in prices If in the final week of the season, the Mets were trying to stop a plummet off a cliff, they are now attempting to climb out of a dark, deep abyss … —Judy Battista

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about plummet

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Synonyms & Antonyms for plummet

Synonyms: Verb

crash, decline, descend, dip, dive, drop, fall, lower, nose-dive, plunge, sink, skid, tumble

Antonyms: Verb

arise, ascend, lift, mount, rise, soar, spike, up

Examples of plummet in a Sentence

Verb

The acrobat plummeted into the net. The car plummeted to the bottom of the canyon. The satellite plummeted into the ocean. Stock prices plummeted 40 percent during the scandal. The TV show has plummeted in the ratings. Temperatures are expected to plummet this weekend. The town's population plummets when the students leave for the summer.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The Kushner, Greenblatt trip comes at a particularly fraught time in U.S.-Palestinian relations, which have plummeted since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv. — Washington Post, "Trump’s Mideast team to push peace plan in region," 13 June 2018 Because schools are designed to be used by the same owner over many decades, there is plenty of time for energy savings to surpass the extra upfront expenditures, which in any case have plummeted in the past decade. — Chris Berdik, WIRED, "Solar Panels Power New Schools—and New Ways of Learning," 6 June 2018 In addition, the health department essentially stopped overseeing lead risk abatements, which plummeted from 12 in 2013, to three a year in 2014 and 2015, to none at all in 2016 and 2017. — Ahmed Elbenni, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mayor Tom Barrett has nominated a new Health Department commissioner. Here are the problems facing the agency," 12 July 2018 Within days of traveling from Berkeley to London and taking the cannabidiol, Sam’s seizures plummeted from 68 to six per day, and then to zero. — Lizzie Johnson, SFChronicle.com, "Berkeley boy was ‘Patient X’ in first FDA-approved medicine derived from marijuana," 8 July 2018 The Cavaliers, meanwhile, plummeted from 12-1 contenders to 500-1 longshots thanks to LeBron’s decision. — Nick Schwartz, For The Win, "How LeBron James changed the 2019 NBA title betting odds in Vegas," 2 July 2018 The Enquirer's circulation has plummeted from its nearly 900,000 copies a week 10 years ago to fewer than 300,000 for the six months ending Dec. 31, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. — Sarah Ellison, chicagotribune.com, "National Enquirer allegedly ran stories by Trump before publishing during campaign," 21 June 2018 At the Coleman complex in Florida, the number plummeted to 7 last year from 161 in 2016. — New York Times, "Safety Concerns Grow as Inmates Are Guarded by Teachers and Secretaries," 17 June 2018 Vaccination rates in Sapporo, which started providing the vaccine for free in 2011, plummeted from around 70% of eligible girls to near zero, according to Sharon Hanley, a cancer epidemiologist at Hokkaido University in Sapporo. — Dennis Normile, Science | AAAS, "Journal retracts paper claiming neurological damage from HPV vaccine," 11 May 2018

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