2 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A plug-in is something such as a piece of software that can be added to a computer system to give extra features or functions. [COMPUTING ] □ …a plug-in memory card.
plum /plʌ m/ (plums )
1 N‑COUNT A plum is a small, sweet fruit with a smooth red or yellow skin and a stone in the middle.
2 COLOUR Something that is plum or plum-coloured is a dark reddish-purple colour. □ …plum-coloured silk.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] A plum job, contract, or role is a very good one that a lot of people would like. [JOURNALISM ] □ Laura landed a plum job with a smart art gallery.
plum|age /pluː m I dʒ/ N‑UNCOUNT A bird's plumage is all the feathers on its body.
plumb /plʌ m/ (plumbs , plumbing , plumbed )
1 VERB If you plumb something mysterious or difficult to understand, you succeed in understanding it. [LITERARY ] □ [V n] She never abandoned her attempts to plumb my innermost emotions.
2 VERB When someone plumbs a building, they put in all the pipes for carrying water. □ [V n] She learned to wire and plumb the house herself.
3 PHRASE If someone plumbs the depths of an unpleasant emotion or quality, they experience it or show it to an extreme degree. □ [+ of ] They frequently plumb the depths of loneliness, humiliation and despair.
4 PHRASE If you say that something plumbs new depths , you mean that it is worse than all the things of its kind that have existed before, even though some of them have been very bad. □ Relations between the two countries have plumbed new depths. [Also + of ]
plumb|er /plʌ mə r / (plumbers ) N‑COUNT A plumber is a person whose job is to connect and repair things such as water and drainage pipes, baths, and toilets.
plumb|ing /plʌ m I ŋ/
1 N‑UNCOUNT The plumbing in a building consists of the water and drainage pipes, baths, and toilets in it. □ The electrics and the plumbing were sound.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Plumbing is the work of connecting and repairing things such as water and drainage pipes, baths, and toilets. □ She learned the rudiments of brick-laying, wiring and plumbing.
plu mb line (plumb lines ) N‑COUNT A plumb line is a piece of string with a weight attached to the end that is used to check that something such as a wall is vertical or that it slopes at the correct angle.
plume /pluː m/ (plumes )
1 N‑COUNT A plume of smoke, dust, fire, or water is a large quantity of it that rises into the air in a column. □ [+ of ] The rising plume of black smoke could be seen all over Kabul.
2 N‑COUNT A plume is a large, soft bird's feather. □ …broad straw hats decorated with ostrich plumes.
plumed /pluː md/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Plumed means decorated with a plume or plumes. □ …a young man wearing a plumed hat.
plum|met /plʌ m I t/ (plummets , plummeting , plummeted )
1 VERB If an amount, rate, or price plummets , it decreases quickly by a large amount. [JOURNALISM ] □ [V ] In Tokyo share prices have plummeted for the sixth successive day. □ [V + to ] His popularity has plummeted to an all-time low in recent weeks. □ [V + from/to/by ] The shares have plummeted from 130p to 2.25p in the past year.
2 VERB If someone or something plummets , they fall very fast towards the ground, usually from a great height. □ [V prep] The jet burst into flames and plummeted to the ground.
plum|my /plʌ mi/ ADJ If you say that someone has a plummy voice or accent, you mean that they sound very upper-class. You usually use plummy to criticize the way someone speaks. [BRIT , DISAPPROVAL ] □ …precious, plummy-voiced radio announcers.
plump /plʌ mp/ (plumper , plumpest , plumps , plumping , plumped )
1 ADJ You can describe someone or something as plump to indicate that they are rather fat or rounded. □ Maria was small and plump with a mass of curly hair. □ …red pears, ripe peaches and plump nectarines. ● plump|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ There was a sturdy plumpness about her hips.
2 VERB If you plump a pillow or cushion, you shake it and hit it gently so that it goes back into a rounded shape. □ [V n] She panics when people pop in unexpectedly, rushing round plumping cushions. ● PHRASAL VERB Plump up means the same as plump . □ [V P n] 'You need to rest,' she told her reassuringly as she moved to plump up her pillows. [Also V n P ]
3 VERB If you plump for someone or something, you choose them, often after hesitating or thinking carefully. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V + for ] I think Tessa should plump for Malcolm, her long-suffering admirer.
plu m pu d|ding (plum puddings ) N‑COUNT Plum pudding is a special pudding eaten at Christmas which is made with dried fruit, spices, and suet. [AM , also BRIT , OLD-FASHIONED ]
plu m to|ma |to (plum tomatoes ) N‑VAR Plum tomatoes are long egg-shaped tomatoes.
plun|der /plʌ ndə r / (plunders , plundering , plundered )
1 VERB If someone plunders a place or plunders things from a place, they steal things from it. [LITERARY ] □ [V n] They plundered and burned the market town of Leominster. □ [V n + of ] She faces charges of helping to plunder her country's treasury of billions of dollars. □ [V n + from ] This has been done by plundering £4 billion from the Government reserves. ● N‑UNCOUNT Plunder is also a noun. □ …a guerrilla group infamous for torture and plunder.