plum1

[pluhm] /plʌm/
noun
1.
the drupaceous fruit of any of several trees belonging to the genus Prunus, of the rose family, having an oblong stone.
2.
the tree itself.
3.
any of various other trees bearing a plumlike fruit.
4.
the fruit itself.
5.
a sugarplum.
6.
a raisin, as in a cake or pudding.
7.
a deep purple varying from bluish to reddish.
8.
Informal. an excellent or desirable thing, as a fine position:
The choicest plums went to his old cronies.
9.
Informal. an unanticipated large increase in money or property, as an unexpected legacy; a windfall:
The company offered bonuses and other plums.
10.
Also called displacer. a large stone used in massive concrete construction.
adjective, plummer, plummest.
11.
extremely desirable, rewarding, profitable, or the like:
a plum job in the foreign service.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English plūme (cognate with German Pflaume) ≪ Greek proûmnon plum, proúmnē plum tree; cf. prune1
Related forms
plumlike, adjective

plum2

[pluhm] /plʌm/
adjective, adverb
1.
plumb (defs 2–6).

Plum

[pluhm] /plʌm/
noun
1.
a city in SW Pennsylvania.
Examples from the web for plum
  • The winds had already affected our local plum and lemon trees.
  • The turtle slowly raises its plum-size head and pops open its small eyes.
  • Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with plum puree or jam on the side.
  • Cut each roll in half diagonally and serve immediately, with plum sauce and mustard for dipping.
  • To try two variations on the plum-raspberry crumble, click here for the recipes.
  • Put the bottle of homemade plum vinaigrette back on the shelf.
  • It is now permanent in the light, but a touch wipes off the picture as it does the bloom from a plum.
  • While visions of plum tomatoes danced in their heads.
  • New patronage networks are replacing the old ones, as the well-connected appoint their chums and relatives to plum public posts.
  • His friends point out that he has already resigned one plum role over the affair.
British Dictionary definitions for plum

plum1

/plʌm/
noun
1.
a small rosaceous tree, Prunus domestica, with white flowers and an edible oval fruit that is purple, yellow, or green and contains an oval stone See also greengage, damson
2.
the fruit of this tree
3.
a raisin, as used in a cake or pudding
4.
  1. a dark reddish-purple colour
  2. (as adjective): a plum carpet
5.
(informal)
  1. something of a superior or desirable kind, such as a financial bonus
  2. (as modifier): a plum job
Derived Forms
plumlike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English plūme; related to Latin prunum, German Pflaume

plum2

/plʌm/
adjective, adverb
1.
a variant spelling of plumb (sense 3), plumb (sense 4), plumb (sense 5), plumb (sense 6)

plumb

/plʌm/
noun
1.
a weight, usually of lead, suspended at the end of a line and used to determine water depth or verticality
2.
the perpendicular position of a freely suspended plumb line (esp in the phrases out of plumb, off plumb)
adjective
3.
(prenominal) (informal, mainly US) (intensifier): a plumb nuisance
adverb
4.
in a vertical or perpendicular line
5.
(informal, mainly US) (intensifier): plumb stupid
6.
(informal) exactly; precisely (also in the phrase plumb on)
verb
7.
(transitive) often foll by up. to test the alignment of or adjust to the vertical with a plumb line
8.
(transitive) to undergo or experience (the worst extremes of misery, sadness, etc): to plumb the depths of despair
9.
(transitive) to understand or master (something obscure): to plumb a mystery
10.
to connect or join (a device such as a tap) to a water pipe or drainage system
Derived Forms
plumbable, adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Old French plomb (unattested) lead line, from Old French plon lead, from Latin plumbum lead
Word Origin and History for plum
n.

Old English plume "plum, plum tree," from an early Germanic borrowing (cf. Middle Dutch prume, Dutch pruim, Old High German pfluma, pfruma, German Pflaume) from Vulgar Latin *pruna, from Latin prunum "plum," from Greek prounon, later form of proumnon, of unknown origin, perhaps from an Asiatic language (Phrygian?). Also cf. prune (n.). Change of pr- to pl- is peculiar to Germanic. The vowel shortened in early modern English. Meaning "something desirable" is first recorded 1780, probably in reference to the sugar-rich bits of a plum pudding, etc.

Slang definitions & phrases for plum

plum

modifier

: who recently got the plum job of heading the county's Department of Human Resources

noun

Something highly prized, esp an easy job with high pay and prestige, often given for political favors: The winners get to pick all the plums (1825+)

[probably influenced by Little Jack Horner's feat of reaching in his thumb and pulling out a plum (in fact a raisin); compare early 1800s British plummy, ''good, desirable'']


plum in Technology

A compiler for a substantial subset of PL/I for the Univac 1100, from the University of Maryland.
["PL/I Programming with PLUM", M.V. Zelkowitz, Paladin House, 1978].
(1995-02-23)