Plumber Meaning
/ˈplʌmə/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOne who works in or with lead.
nounOne who furnishes, fits, and repairs pipes and other apparatus for the conveyance of water, gas, or drainage.
Sentence Examples
Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends.
The plumber pumped the water out of the pipe.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The professional ____ came to fix the broken pipe under the kitchen sink.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ arrived within an hour and quickly identified the source of the leak under the sink.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English plumber, from Old French plummier (French plombier); from Latin plumbārius, from plumbum (“lead or lead shot”). The verb sense “to botch” is perhaps from the negative stereotype of the occupation.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Hannah Spencer, a local plumber and Green party councillor, was elected as the party’s first MP in northern England after overturning Labour’s 13,000-vote majority."
— 2026 February 27, Josh Halliday, “Green party wins Gorton and Denton byelection, pushing Labour to third place in blow to Keir Starmer”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
"It involved the break-in of the office of Mr. Lewis Fielding, Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, by the White House “plumbers.”"
— 1979, United States. Congress. House. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Subcommittee on Legislation, Espionage Laws and Leaks: Hearings Before the Subcommittee...:
"[…] began the month with an operation at St. Joseph Hospital in Aurora, Ill. His surgeon, by the way, was a "plumber” – urologist."
— 1958, Father Provincial Assumption B.V.M. Monastery, The Chronicle, volumes 12-13, page 39:
"Within surgery, the "cleaner" specialties, such as cardiac and neurosurgery, outrank the plumbers (urologists) and proctologists."
— 1983, Toni Martin, How to Survive Medical School, page 127:
"There is nothing to work him into a fine feeling of agony and despair like an exam scheduled for the next day, or a paper to write, or a concert in which he is to sing. Wish him the top of the morning when he is looking forward to one of these events, and then hear the woeful story of how badly he is going to be plumbered."
— 1930, “Paul Thomas Martin”, in Joseph W. Martin, editor, The Record, Haverford, Pa.: The Class of 1930, Haverford College, →OCLC, page 54:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The professional ____ came to fix the broken pipe under the kitchen sink.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ arrived within an hour and quickly identified the source of the leak under the sink.