Plunge Definition
plŭnj
plunged, plunges, plunging
verb
plunged, plunges, plunging
To throw oneself, dive, or rush, as into water, a fight, etc.
Webster's New World
To pitch, as a ship.
Webster's New World
To devote oneself to or undertake an activity earnestly or wholeheartedly.
I plunged into my studies. She plunged ahead with her plan.
American Heritage
To fall off or decline precipitously.
Webster's New World
To enter or move headlong through something.
The hunting dogs plunged into the forest.
American Heritage
noun
plunges
A dive or downward leap.
Webster's New World
A swim.
Webster's New World
A place for plunging, or swimming.
Webster's New World
A sudden or dramatic decline.
A plunge in prices.
American Heritage
Any steep and rapid descent.
Webster's New World
idiom
take the plunge
- To begin an unfamiliar venture, especially after hesitating:
After a three-year engagement, they're finally taking the plunge.
American Heritage
take the plunge
- to start on a new and seemingly uncertain enterprise, esp. after some hesitation
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Plunge
Origin of Plunge
-
From Middle English plungen, ploungen, Anglo-Norman plungier, from Old French plonger, (Modern French plonger), from unattested Late Latin frequentative *plumbicare (“to throw a leaded line"), from Latin plumbum (“lead"). Compare plumb, plounce.
From Wiktionary
Middle English plungen from Old French plongier from Vulgar Latin plumbicāre to heave a sounding lead from Latin plumbum lead
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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