plummet
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to decrease by a large amount in a very short time.
v.to experience a sudden and significant decline in value, amount, or intensity.
Simple“Share prices began to plummet after the company reported poor sales.”
In context“Public confidence in the administration began to plummet following the revelation of the fiscal scandal.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
n.a lead weight on a string used to measure how deep water is.
n.a lead weight attached to a line, used for sounding the depth of water or determining a vertical line.
Simple“The sailor dropped the plummet into the sea to check the depth.”
In context“The architect used a traditional plummet to ensure the stone wall was perfectly vertical.”
UsageCommonly referred to as a 'plumb bob' in modern technical contexts.
“A Pew Research survey in June found that Canadians’ views of the US as a reliable partner had plummeted.”
“She points out that teenage pregnancies have plummeted and that modern adolescents are better educated and less violent than their parents’ generation.”
From Middle English plommet (“ball of lead, plumb of a bob-line”), recorded since 1382, from Old French plommet or plomet, the diminutive of plom, plum (“lead, sounding lead”), from Latin plumbum (“lead”). The verb is first recorded in 1626, originally meaning “to fathom, take soundings", from the noun.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.