English Explanatory Dictionary

plumber

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One who works in or with lead.
  2. One who furnishes, fits, and repairs pipes and other apparatus for the conveyance of water, gas, or drainage.
  3. A person who investigates or prevents leaks of information.
  4. In the Royal Navy, an apprentice, a boy aged 16 to 18, who is trained in technical skills at the Dockyard Schools to become an artificer.
  5. A urologist.
verb
  1. To botch or ruin.
  2. To work as a plumber.
  3. To work on (something) as a plumber.
  4. To do, work, devise (something).
  5. To equip (something) with plumbing.

Pronunciation

/ˈplʌm.ɚ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-plumber.wav /pləm(b)ə(r)/

Word forms

plumber plumbers plumbering plumbered

Etymology

From Middle English plumber, from Old French plummier (French plombier); from Latin plumbārius, from plumbum (“lead or lead shot”). The verb sense “to botch” is perhaps from the negative stereotype of the occupation.

Synonyms

plumber up plumb

Related words

plumbing

Derived words

nonplumber plumber block plumberless plumber's cleavage plumber's crack plumber's helper plumber's snake plumber wrench plumbery unplumbered plumbered plumber up
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on P Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary