plumb 1 of 3

plumb

2 of 3

adverb

1
as in straight
in a direct line or course I can't believe he walked plumb into the tree, without even seeing it!

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3

plumb

3 of 3

verb

as in to scale
to measure the depth of (as a body of water) typically with a weighted line plumbed the bay to make sure it was deep enough for the ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective plumb differ from other similar words?

The words perpendicular and vertical are common synonyms of plumb. While all three words mean "being at right angles to a base line," plumb stresses an exact verticality determined (as with a plumb line) by earth's gravity.

make sure that the wall is plumb

When might perpendicular be a better fit than plumb?

Although the words perpendicular and plumb have much in common, perpendicular may stress the straightness of a line making a right angle with any other line, not necessarily a horizontal one.

the parallel bars are perpendicular to the support posts

In what contexts can vertical take the place of plumb?

In some situations, the words vertical and plumb are roughly equivalent. However, vertical suggests a line or direction rising straight upward toward a zenith.

the side of the cliff is almost vertical

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of plumb
Adjective
In My Mother and Eye, 2025, a sweeping Public Art Fund project installed in bus shelters across New York City, Boston, and Chicago, eleven discrete photographic collages plumb this intangible meeting point. Jessica Simmons-Reid, Artforum, 1 June 2025 Artists were enlisted to plumb surreality and to popularize it. Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
For nearly five decades, NASA's twin Voyager probes have plumbed the cosmos in search of answers to some of astronomy's most perplexing mysteries about our solar system and its place in the wider universe. Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025 As well as being a smart space-saving option, this makes sense as the robot vacuum mop can be plumbed into the house water system, which will be where the washing machine is already located. Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 5 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for plumb
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plumb
Adjective
  • Ray is the leader of a biker gang and demands utter subservience.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Outside, the scene among the sea of red was one of utter devastation.
    James Pearce, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Provided the Niners don’t blow the doors off their Golden State rival, the Football Factory churns out the vertical yardage needed.
    Brad Evans, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • The Live hub in the main vertical navigation takes viewers to the latest live news, sports and events, as well as the 24/7 Streams on Disney+.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
Adverb
  • Paltrow completed her look with black pointed-toe pumps and wore her blonde hair straight and styled parted down the middle.
    Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
  • While most 200-horsepower sport bikes top out around 190 mph, Indian’s Challenger is a bagger that can rival them straight down the salt flats.
    Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
Adverb
  • If the plates aren’t fully clean, repeat as needed.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025
  • The story of a Louisville man charged in connection to the murder of his fiancée had not fully unraveled when he was acquitted in 1991.
    Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Oct. 2025
Adverb
  • The Revolution provided a brief scare through a 59th-minute goal from Dor Turgeman, who embarrassed a defender before curling home a spectacular effort, but Inter Miami broke the tie almost immediately after the strike that made the score 2-1.
    Franco Panizo, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Robertson then returned to the mound for the seventh — and immediately put two on.
    Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Her leadership was instrumental in scaling OpenAI from a research organization to one of the most important AI companies in the world.
    Dave Smith, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Building the next Spotify Momentum – and the ability to constantly iterate – often comes down to bagging cash to scale.
    Tasmin Lockwood, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • New signals, crosswalks and bike infrastructure could be complete by 2026.
    Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Why does one hard working fan have to buy seven different versions of an album instead of just having all of the songs be on one complete album?
    Bryan West, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Many use social media to call for an end to the violence, then erect memorials at the site of the shooting.
    David Clarey, jsonline.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • On the fateful day that inbound Soviet bombers filled the skies above America with godless communism, the horizontal Bomarc missiles would literally become erect, and fire vertically.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Plumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plumb. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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