PLUME

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does plume mean? 

• PLUME (noun)
  The noun PLUME has 3 senses:

1. anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness

2. a feather or cluster of feathers worn as an ornament

3. the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds

  Familiarity information: PLUME used as a noun is uncommon.

• PLUME (verb)
  The verb PLUME has 6 senses:

1. rip off; ask an unreasonable price

2. be proud of

3. deck with a plume

4. clean with one's bill

5. form a plume

6. dress or groom with elaborate care

  Familiarity information: PLUME used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLUME (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Context example:

grass with large plumes

Hypernyms ("plume" is a kind of...):

form; shape (the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A feather or cluster of feathers worn as an ornament

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("plume" is a kind of...):

adornment (a decoration of color or interest that is added to relieve plainness)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plume"):

aigret; aigrette (a long plume (especially one of egret feathers) worn on a hat or a piece of jewelry in the shape of a plume)

panache (a feathered plume on a helmet)

Derivation:

plume (deck with a plume)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

feather; plumage; plume

Hypernyms ("plume" is a kind of...):

body covering (any covering for the body or a body part)

animal material (material derived from animals)

Meronyms (parts of "plume"):

vane; web (the flattened weblike part of a feather consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft)

calamus; quill; shaft (the hollow spine of a feather)

Meronyms (substance of "plume"):

melanin (insoluble pigments that account for the color of e.g. skin and scales and feathers)

ceratin; keratin (a fibrous scleroprotein that occurs in the outer layer of the skin and in horny tissues such as hair, feathers, nails, and hooves)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plume"):

down; down feather (soft fine feathers)

aftershaft (a supplementary feather (usually small) on the underside of the base of the shaft of some feathers in some birds)

contour feather (feathers covering the body of an adult bird and determining its shape)

alula; bastard wing; spurious wing (tuft of small stiff feathers on the first digit of a bird's wing)

marabou (the downy feathers of marabou storks are used for trimming garments)

hackle (long slender feather on the necks of e.g. turkeys and pheasants)

flight feather; pinion; quill; quill feather (any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird)

scapular (a feather covering the shoulder of a bird)

Holonyms ("plume" is a part of...):

bird (warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings)

Derivation:

plume (clean with one's bill)

plume (deck with a plume)

• PLUME (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they plume    ... he / she / it plumes   
Past simple: plumed   
Past participle: plumed   
-ing form: pluming   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Rip off; ask an unreasonable price

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

fleece; gazump; hook; overcharge; pluck; plume; rob; soak; surcharge

Hypernyms (to "plume" is one way to...):

cheat; chisel; rip off (deprive somebody of something by deceit)

"Plume" entails doing...:

bill; charge (demand payment)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "plume"):

extort; gouge; rack; squeeze; wring (obtain by coercion or intimidation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be proud of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

congratulate; plume; pride

Context example:

He prides himself on making it into law school

Hypernyms (to "plume" is one way to...):

experience; feel (undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Deck with a plume

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

a plumed helmet

Hypernyms (to "plume" is one way to...):

bedeck; bedight; deck (decorate)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

plume (the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds)

plume (a feather or cluster of feathers worn as an ornament)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Clean with one's bill

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

plume; preen

Context example:

The birds preened

Hypernyms (to "plume" is one way to...):

arrange; set up (put into a proper or systematic order)

clean; make clean (make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

plume (the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Form a plume

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The engine was pluming black smoke

Hypernyms (to "plume" is one way to...):

form; shape (give shape or form to)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Dress or groom with elaborate care

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

dress; plume; preen; primp

Context example:

She likes to dress when going to the opera

Hypernyms (to "plume" is one way to...):

attire; deck out; deck up; dress up; fancy up; fig out; fig up; get up; gussy up; overdress; prink; rig out; tog out; tog up; trick out; trick up (put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive)

Verb group:

dress; get dressed (put on clothes)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

The mass of microbe-rich water, called a plume, was large enough to detect from space.

(Scientists report skyrocketing phyotplankton population in aftermath of Kīlauea eruption, Wikinews)

Scientists working close to the line of wildfires are obtaining a new understanding of the fires' smoke plumes.

(Researchers discover how wildfires create their own weather, National Science Foundation)

The swirls and the magnetic fields could both have formed from plumes of material ejected by comet impacts.

(NASA Research Gives New Insights into How the Moon Got 'Inked', NASA)

This enables them to sense the plumes of air we exhale.

(How mosquitoes detect people, NIH)

"We needed to see whether there was anything in the data that could tell us whether or not there was a plume."

(Old Data Reveal New Evidence of Europa Plumes, NASA)

The team continues to analyze the particle plumes and their possible causes.

(NASA Mission Reveals Asteroid Has Big Surprises, NASA)

The moons just outside the main rings, on the other hand, appear more blue, similar to the light from Enceladus' icy plumes.

(NASA's Cassini Finds Saturn's Rings Coat Tiny Moons, NASA)

Its plumed tail curls up over the back and down the side.

(Finnish Spitz, NCI Thesaurus)

The Papillon, also called the Continental Toy Spaniel, has a long coat with a long, plumed tail which is carried curled over the back.

(Papillon, NCI Thesaurus)

The ash plumes rose as high as 30,000 feet (9 kilometers) into the sky, diverting flights.

(NASA Shows New Tongan Island Made of Tuff Stuff, Likely to Persist Years, NASA)