Plunge Meaning
/plʌnd͡ʒ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo thrust into liquid, or into any penetrable substance; to immerse.
verbTo cast, stab or throw deep and fast into some thing, state, condition or action.
Sentence Examples
The robber tried to plunge the knife into the boy.
Sue and John decided to take the plunge.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The brave diver decided to ____ into the icy water from the cliff.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She decided to take the ____ and quit her job to start her own business from scratch.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English plungen, ploungen, Anglo-Norman plungier, from Old French plongier, (Modern French plonger), from unattested Late Latin frequentative *plumbicō (“to throw a leaded line”), from plumbum (“lead”). Compare plumb, plounce.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""Most of them don't wash. Those who do usually plunge their head into some brook or rill, if there happens to be one about.""
— 1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 53:
"Jon isn’t lying when he tells her she will always be his queen, right before plunging a knife into her. He genuinely swore obedience, and sees himself as a traitor when he commits the deeds."
— 2019 May 19, Alex McLevy, “The final Game Of Thrones brings a pensive but simple meditation about stories (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 22 May 2019:
"The day was cool and snappy for August, and the Rise all green with a lavish nature. Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet:[…]."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
"Do we know how kinky practices began? Do we know who the first kinky people were? Well, no. […] Nevertheless, we shall plunge ahead into the past, using what facts we have to make informed assumptions on how we traveled the slippery slope from there to here."
— 2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “The murky world from whence it all came” (chapter 2), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 32:
"Target reported profit plunged 90% in the second quarter, falling far short of expectations, as inflation-weary customers pulled back on spending on nonessential items."
— 2022 August 17, Chris Isidore, “Target profit plunges 90% as inflation-weary shoppers pull back”, in CNN:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The brave diver decided to ____ into the icy water from the cliff.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She decided to take the ____ and quit her job to start her own business from scratch.