plume Hear it!

plume Definition

plume (plo̵̅o̅m)

noun

    1. a feather, esp. a large, fluffy, or showy one
    2. a cluster of such feathers
  1. an ornament made of a large feather or feathers, or of a feathery tuft of hair, esp. when worn on a hat, helmet, etc. as a mark of distinction
  2. any token of worth or achievement; prize
  3. plumage or down
  4. something like a plume in shape or lightness a plume of smoke
  5. Biol. a featherlike formation or part
  6. Geol. a plume-shaped mass of molten rock that rises through the crust from the mantle of the earth and causes volcanic activity

Etymology: OFr < L pluma, downy part of a feather, small soft feather < IE base *pleus-, to pluck out, fluff of wool, hair > fleece

transitive verb plumed, plum·ing

  1. to provide, cover, or adorn with plumes
    1. to smooth the feathers of (itself)
    2. to preen (its feathers): said of a bird
  2. to pride (oneself)

plume Synonyms

plume

n.

plume Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • smoke: A plume of thick black smoke was visible from several miles away.
  • feather: A hat of black velvet is worn adorned with a plume of feathers.
  • ash: A plume of ash rising from Mount on Montagu Island.
  • spray: The boat sped swiftly away trailing a plume of spray over the calm water of the lagoon.
  • steam: Some geothermal activity was clearly evident in the surrounding hills with plumes of steam rising into the air.
  • dust: These plumes of dust are caused by collisions between rocks in the belt.

Object

  • serpent: The snake is another common subject of sculpture and is often shown as Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent.
  • helmet: She wears her aegis or breastplate and her plumed helmet, symbol of illumination.

Adjective modifier

  • hydrothermal: Processes active in hydrothermal plumes modify the gross flux from hydrothermal venting to the oceans.
  • convective: There is a rising convective plume beneath the Azores.
  • buoyant: Figure 23: Sketch of a buoyant plume rising in the absence of a background wind.
  • volcanic: Such volcanic plumes have been known to cause lightning on Earth.
  • turbulent: How is this commonly approximated in models of turbulent plumes?

Modifies a noun

moth: Many like the plume moths can be identified by their characteristic scales.

Noun used with modifier

  • mantle: The location of mantle plumes during the initial stages of Gondwana break up.
  • ostrich: She was depicted by Egyptian artists as a woman wearing an ostrich plume on her head.
  • contaminant: Results from the site investigations indicated that contaminant plumes existed within part of the site.
  • exhaust: The exhaust plume looked much cleaner than in previous tests having very little black smoke.
  • feather: Although dress regulations states black feather plume with ring of scarlet feathers, most pictures show scarlet feathers with black ring.
  • smoke: Another strange feature is the dark smoke plumes seen to erupt from the surface.

Browse dictionary entries near plume

  1. plumbous
  2. plumbism
  3. plumbing
  4. plumbiferous
  5. plumbic
  6. plumber's helper
  7. plumber
  8. plumbeous
  9. plumbago
  10. plumb rule
  1. plumelet
  2. plumeria
  3. plummet
  4. plummy
  5. plumose
  6. plump
  7. plumper
  8. plumule
  9. plumy
  10. plunder