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Plunge

//plʌnd͡ʒ// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of plunging or submerging.
  2. 2
    a brief swim in water wordnet
  3. 3
    A dive, leap, rush, or pitch into (into water).

    "to take the water with a plunge"

  4. 4
    a steep and rapid fall wordnet
  5. 5
    A swimming pool. dated
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    The act of pitching or throwing oneself headlong or violently forward, like an unruly horse. figuratively
  2. 7
    Heavy and reckless betting in horse racing; hazardous speculation. slang
  3. 8
    An immersion in difficulty, embarrassment, or distress; the condition of being surrounded or overwhelmed; a strait; difficulty. obsolete
Verb
  1. 1
    To thrust into liquid, or into any penetrable substance; to immerse. transitive

    "to plunge the body into water"

  2. 2
    To remove a blockage by suction. transitive

    "to plunge a toilet"

  3. 3
    begin with vigor wordnet
  4. 4
    To cast, stab or throw deep and fast into some thing, state, condition or action. figuratively, transitive

    "to plunge a dagger into the breast"

  5. 5
    devote (oneself) fully to wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    To baptize by immersion. obsolete, transitive
  2. 7
    cause to be immersed wordnet
  3. 8
    To dive, leap or rush (into water or some liquid); to submerge oneself. intransitive

    "he plunged into the river"

  4. 9
    immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate wordnet
  5. 10
    To fall or rush headlong into some thing, action, state or condition. figuratively, intransitive

    "to plunge into debt"

  6. 11
    thrust or throw into wordnet
  7. 12
    To pitch or throw oneself headlong or violently forward, as a horse does. intransitive

    "[N]ature affects a looſe kinde of liberty, vvhich it cannot indure to have reſtrained: neither fares it othervviſe vvith it, then vvith ſome vvilde colt; which at the firſt taking up, flings and plunges, and vvill ſtand on no ground; but after it hath been ſomvvhile diſciplin'd at the Poſt, is grovvn tractable, and quietly ſubmits either to the ſaddle, or the collar: […]"

  8. 13
    dash violently or with great speed or impetuosity wordnet
  9. 14
    To bet heavily and recklessly; to risk large sums in gambling. intransitive, slang
  10. 15
    drop steeply wordnet
  11. 16
    To entangle or embarrass (mostly used in past participle). intransitive, obsolete

    "Plunged and gravelled with three lines of Seneca."

  12. 17
    fall abruptly wordnet
  13. 18
    To overwhelm, overpower. intransitive, obsolete

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English plungen, ploungen, Anglo-Norman plungier, from Old French plongier, (Modern French plonger), from unattested Late Latin frequentative *plumbicō (“to throw a leaded line”), from plumbum (“lead”). Compare plumb, plounce.

Etymology 2

From Middle English plungen, ploungen, Anglo-Norman plungier, from Old French plongier, (Modern French plonger), from unattested Late Latin frequentative *plumbicō (“to throw a leaded line”), from plumbum (“lead”). Compare plumb, plounce.

Etymology 3

Back-formation from plunger.

See also for "plunge"

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