plumb

/pləm/

/pləmb/

Other forms: plumbing; plumbed; plumbs

To plumb a body of water, you measure its depth. To plumb a house, you connect all of its pipes. To make carpentry plumb, you get it exactly vertical.

Originally, the verb plumb only meant “to measure the depth of water.” These days, if you “plumb the depths” of something, you go in deep for knowledge and experience: your Heidegger seminar may plumb the depths of German Existentialism like Jacques Cousteau plumbed the depths of the ocean.

Definitions of plumb

1. adjective

   exactly vertical
   “the tower of Pisa is far out of plumb”

   synonyms:

   perpendicular, vertical

   at right angles to the plane of the horizon or a base line
2. noun

   the metal bob of a plumb line
   synonyms: plumb bob, plummet

   type of:

   bob

   a hanging weight, especially a metal ball on a string
3. adverb

   conforming to the direction of a plumb line
4. verb

   adjust with a plumb line so as to make vertical
   type of:

   adjust, correct, set

   alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard
5. verb

   weight with lead
   type of:

   burden, burthen, weight, weight down

   weight down with a load
6. verb

   measure the depth of something
   type of:

   measure, quantify

   express as a number or measure or quantity
7. verb

   examine thoroughly and in great depth
   type of:

   explore

   examine minutely
8. adverb

   completely; used as intensifiers
   synonyms: clean, plum
9. adverb

   exactly
   “fell plumb in the middle of the puddle”

   synonyms: plum