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plump

/pləmp/

/pləmp/

IPA guide

Other forms: plumped; plumping; plumper; plumply; plumps; plumpest

Something that's plump has a nice round shape. You could describe watching your plump little cousin eating one plump grape after another.

Objects and people can both be described as plump, as long as they're full or round or chubby. Though some people might be offended by being called plump, it's meant to describe an appealing roundness. And when you plump something, you pat or shake it so that it becomes fuller: "Let me plump those pillows on the bed while you tuck the sheets in."

Definitions of plump
  1. adjective
    sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
    “pleasingly plump
    synonyms: chubby, embonpoint
    fat
    having an (over)abundance of flesh
  2. verb
    make fat or plump
    “We will plump out that poor starving child”
    synonyms: fat, fatten, fatten out, fatten up, fill out, flesh out, plump out
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    type of:
    alter, change, modify
    cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
  3. noun
    the sound of a sudden heavy fall
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    type of:
    noise
    sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
  4. verb
    set (something or oneself) down with or as if with a noise
    synonyms: flump, plank, plonk, plop, plump down, plunk, plunk down
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    type of:
    place down, put down, set down
    cause to sit or seat or be in a settled position or place
  5. verb
    drop sharply
    synonyms: plummet
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    type of:
    drop
    fall vertically
  6. adverb
    straight down especially heavily or abruptly
    “the anchor fell plump into the sea”
    “we dropped the rock plump into the water”
  7. verb
    give support (to) or make a choice (of) one out of a group or number
    “I plumped for the losing candidates”
    synonyms: go
    see moresee less
    type of:
    choose, pick out, select, take
    pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
Pronunciation
US

/pləmp/

UK

/pləmp/

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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘plump'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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