Pluto

//ˈplutoʊ// name, verb

name, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To demote or devalue something. neologism

    "2007 April 21, The Meerkat , OT:Catholic Church ditches Limbo, aus.tv, Usenet. Limbo has been plutoed. No half way house any more. It's heaven or hell."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    The Greco-Roman god of the underworld. Greek, Roman
  2. 2
    The largest dwarf planet and formerly the ninth planet, represented by the symbol ♇ or ⯓, both now used mostly in astrology.
  3. 3
    The American cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Norm Ferguson.

Example

More examples

"When I was your age, Pluto was a planet."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English Pluto, Pluton, from Latin Plūtō, from Ancient Greek Πλούτων (Ploútōn, “god of the underworld”). Doublet of Plouton. Venetia Burney is often credited as having suggested the name for the celestial body.

Etymology 2

Originally coined in 2006 by the American Dialect Society, in reference to Pluto's demotion from planet status, defeating climate canary for Word of the Year.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.