plunge
/plʌn(d)ʒ
/verb
1 [no object, with adverbial] Jump or dive quickly and energetically: our little daughters whooped as they plunged into the sea...
- She dove, a beautiful swan dive, and plunged into the crystal clear, saltwater pool.
- I watched as two police divers plunged into the frigid East River and quickly collected the corpse.
- The dog jumped out of Gareth's arms and plunged into the canal where he made his way under a mooring jetty.
Synonyms
jump, dive, hurl oneself, throw oneself, fling oneself, launch oneself, catapult oneself, cast oneself, pitch oneself
1.1Fall suddenly and uncontrollably: a car swerved to avoid a bus and plunged into a ravine...
- In Florida, some brave passengers saved their bus from plunging almost 200 feet into the water.
- Children and adults alike were screaming as we were thrown around the sharp corners and plunged down the deep falls.
- The aircraft made several circles before suddenly plunging into the sea with its lights out.
Synonyms
crash, plummet, pitch, drop, fall, fall headlong, tumble, nosedive, take a nosedive, crash-dive, descend
1.2 (as adjective plunging) Denoting a very low-cut neckline on a woman’s garment.She was wearing a plunging halter dress, with a sequined bodice and white organza skirt, hiked up around her thighs....
- A female politician should find a better way to get her point across than flashing her plunging neckline.
- With her plunging necklines and accessible charm, she has become a national favourite on this side of the Atlantic.
1.3Embark impetuously on a speech or course of action: he came to a decision, and plunged on before he had time to reconsider it...
- Taking a deep breath, he plunged on with his speech.
- And he plunged ahead without understanding or preparing for the consequences of the post-war.
- The best thing about these mini games is that they don't distract from the main quest, they're there if you want them, but easily ignored if you want to keep on plunging ahead.
1.4Suffer a rapid decrease in value: shares in the company plunged 18p on news that profits had fallen...
- The news resulted in their share value plunging 50%.
- The transfer market is plunging in value, wages are being depressed and more and more footballers are finding themselves unemployed.
- The value of those properties plunged 64.6 per cent to HK $4.61 billion.
Synonyms
fall steeply/sharply, plummet, drop rapidly, go down, tumble, sink, slump
informal crash, nosedive, take a nosedive
1.5(Of a ship) pitch: the ship plunged through the 20-foot seas...
- This meant climbing to the top of the 80 ft mast in a safety harness, with the yacht plunging in gusts of wind and a choppy sea, and holding on for dear life for five hours while she attached a spare halyard.
- Cresting over the back of a wave, the boat plunges into a trough and rides up the back of another swell, crashing through into another trough.
- It proved necessary to row ashore in a small dinghy, plunging through the hot spray past a Turkish battleship that had been moored for so long that the coral had grown up around it, immobilising it forever.
Synonyms
lurch, pitch, roll, reel, toss about, keel, list, wallow, labour, flounder, make heavy weather;
Nautical pitchpole
1.6 [no object] (Of a horse) rear violently: the frightened horse plunged and bolted...
- After a time, Monseigneur hears a loud cry, and the horses rear and plunge.
- Pierce's horse, Arinex, was tied even more tightly, his head high as he reared and plunged, trying to get free.
- With a wild neigh, Andaril reared and plunged through the circle of guards and archers, their arrows useless.
2 [with object and adverbial] Push or thrust quickly: he plunged his hands into his pockets...
- Take the tip of a large knife and quickly and firmly plunge the knife downwards through this cross.
- He got as close as he could before plunging his gloved hand quickly into the center of the smoking embers, and drawing out a long blackened object.
- With the warrior dazed, he quickly plunges his sword into his exposed chest.
Synonyms
thrust, stick, ram, drive, jab, stab, push, shove, force, sink
2.1Quickly immerse in liquid: to peel fruit, cover with boiling water and then plunge them into iced water...
- They first dunk the tissue in a simple solution of ethylene glycol and buffered saline, and then chill the samples by plunging them into liquid nitrogen.
- To cook the quail's eggs, drop the eggs into boiling water for three and a half minutes and then plunge them into iced water to halt the cooking process.
- Using rubber gloves, put nettles in two litres of salted boiling water for a second to remove the sting then plunge them into iced water.
Synonyms
immerse, submerge, sink, dip, dunk, douse, duck
2.2Suddenly bring into a specified condition or state: for a moment the scene was illuminated, then it was plunged back into darkness...
- Then suddenly they were plunged into darkness once again.
- The overhead light in the room suddenly switched off, plunging the room in darkness.
- Suddenly the room was plunged into darkness - his computer had finished shutting down.
Synonyms
throw, cast, pitch
2.3 [with object] Sink (a pot containing a plant) in the ground: pot up and plunge spring-flowering bulbs...
- I have potted up the surviving plants and then plunged the pots back into the windowboxes.
- After Christmas, reverse the process and plunge the pot into the ground until the following year
noun
1An act of jumping or diving into water: fanatics went straight from the hot room to take a cold plunge...
- Windy, cool and empty, its vast spaces were as refreshing as a plunge into cold water.
- The rough footpath passes dangerously close to the edge of some of these gorges, and a slip on the muddy trail could well mean a headlong plunge into the boiling waters below.
- An optional after-dinner extra is a lounge in the sauna followed by a quick plunge in the icy water of the lake.
Synonyms
jump, dive;
nosedive, fall, pitch, drop, plummet, descent, tumble
archaic plump
1.1A swift and drastic fall in value or amount: the central bank declared a 76% plunge in its profits...
- Given the plunge in the value of Wolfson after its profits warning, that looks like a courageous statement.
- The high borrowings that led to plunges in the value of many trusts are now working to their advantage with the return of confidence to the stock market in recent months.
- Of particular concern has been the plunge in the value of insurance companies on solvency worries.
Synonyms
fall, drop, tumble, slump
informal nosedive, crash
Phrases
take the plunge
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French plungier 'thrust down', based on Latin plumbum 'lead, plummet'.