What does "plunge" mean?
The act of plunging or submerging.
Plunge
/plʌnd͡ʒ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of plunging or submerging.
- Grammar: plunge is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: dip, abate, ablate, absorb.
- Useful contrasts: ease into, emerge, float.
- Usage evidence: The robber tried to plunge the knife into the boy.
How to use "plunge"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "plunge" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "plunge" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "plunge" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "plunge" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "plunge" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "dip" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "plunge", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of plunging or submerging.
- 2 a brief swim in water wordnet
- 3 A dive, leap, rush, or pitch into (into water).
"to take the water with a plunge"
- 4 a steep and rapid fall wordnet
- 5 A swimming pool. dated
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 The act of pitching or throwing oneself headlong or violently forward, like an unruly horse. figuratively
- 7 Heavy and reckless betting in horse racing; hazardous speculation. slang
- 8 An immersion in difficulty, embarrassment, or distress; the condition of being surrounded or overwhelmed; a strait; difficulty. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To thrust into liquid, or into any penetrable substance; to immerse. transitive
"to plunge the body into water"
- 2 To remove a blockage by suction. transitive
"to plunge a toilet"
- 3 begin with vigor wordnet
- 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 devote (oneself) fully to wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 To baptize by immersion. obsolete, transitive
- 7 cause to be immersed wordnet
- 8 To dive, leap or rush (into water or some liquid); to submerge oneself. intransitive
"he plunged into the river"
- 9 immerse briefly into a liquid so as to wet, coat, or saturate wordnet
- 10 To fall or rush headlong into some thing, action, state or condition. figuratively, intransitive
"to plunge into debt"
- 11 thrust or throw into wordnet
- 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: […]"
- 13 dash violently or with great speed or impetuosity wordnet
- 14 To bet heavily and recklessly; to risk large sums in gambling. intransitive, slang
- 15 drop steeply wordnet
- 16 To entangle or embarrass (mostly used in past participle). intransitive, obsolete
"Plunged and gravelled with three lines of Seneca."
- 17 fall abruptly wordnet
- 18 To overwhelm, overpower. intransitive, obsolete
Example
"The robber tried to plunge the knife into the boy."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "plunge"?
Common synonyms include: dip, abate, ablate, absorb, advance, agiotage.
How do you use "plunge" in a sentence?
The robber tried to plunge the knife into the boy.
How do you pronounce "plunge"?
Pronounced /plʌnd͡ʒ/.
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
Back-formation from plunger.