Plume (Verb)
Meaning 1
Be proud of; "He prides himself on making it into law school".
Classification
Verbs of feeling.
Examples
- She plumes herself on her ability to learn any new language in a matter of weeks.
- He plumed himself on being an expert chess player with an unbeaten record.
- The new chef plumes herself on whipping up exquisite dishes using locally-sourced ingredients.
- The artist plumes herself on capturing the beauty of nature through her oil paintings.
- The entrepreneur plumes himself on founding a successful company at such a young age.
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Meaning 2
Clean with one's bill; "The birds preened".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- Seagulls frequently use sticks to plume under their wings, searching for parasites and other debris.
- As she plumed the crevices around her ear, the grey heron seemed completely absorbed in her grooming.
- Birds like the peacock plume their elaborate tails daily to maintain this showy plumage.
- He watched in fascination as the bird began to plume, gently working the debris loose with her beak.
- On the wet branch above, a curious snail witnessed a pair of swallows plume each other, harmoniously grooming their feathers.
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Meaning 3
Deck with a plume; "a plumed helmet".
Classification
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing.
Examples
- She carefully plumed the bird's ruffled feathers back into place to restore its natural beauty.
- He decorated his horse with a grand plume to impress the judges at the horse show.
- The elegant bride plumed her hair with delicate white flowers for the wedding ceremony.
- The Renaissance costume designer plumed the actor's helmet to add to his elaborate suit of armor.
- The 19th-century French cavalry officer plumed his famous bicorne hat with an ostentatious black feather.
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Meaning 4
Dress or groom with elaborate care; "She likes to dress when going to the opera".
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
Examples
- She took hours to plume herself in front of the mirror for her upcoming wedding.
- The actress spent hours with her stylist to plume her look for the red carpet.
- He carefully plumed his hair, adjusting every strand before the big interview.
- She liked to plume herself when going to formal events and parties.
- The fashion blogger loved to plume her outfits, experimenting with different styles.
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Meaning 5
Rip off; ask an unreasonable price.
Classification
Verbs of buying, selling, owning.
Examples
- The company plumed customers for their life savings by selling them overpriced products with little functionality.
- The art dealer tried to plume the buyer by claiming the painting was a rare collectible and demanding an exorbitant price.
- Airlines have been known to plume passengers with hidden fees for services like checked bags and in-flight meals.
- Many customers fell victim to the scammer's scheme, who plumed them by promising unusually high returns on their investments.
- The contractor plumed the homeowner by inflating the cost of repairs and presenting them with an outrageous bill.
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Meaning 6
Form a plume; "The chimneys were pluming the sky"; "The engine was pluming black smoke".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The volcano started pluming large amounts of ash and debris into the atmosphere.
- As the wildfire raged out of control, it was pluming across the surrounding hills.
- During the heavy rainfall, the waterfall was pluming over the edge of the cliff.
- After the catastrophic tanker explosion, the engines were pluming thick black smoke.
- With all the pollution and chemicals released into the river, it was pluming into the nearby ocean.