Definition of 'plum'

plum

(plʌm )

Word forms: plural plums

1. countable noun

A plum is a small, sweet fruit with a smooth red or yellow skin and a stone in the middle.

Synonyms: prize, find, pick, cream More Synonyms of plum

2. colour

Something that is plum or plum-coloured is a dark reddish-purple colour.

...plum-coloured silk.

3. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]

A plum job, contract, or role is a very good one that a lot of people would like.

[journalism]

Laura landed a plum job with a smart art gallery.

More Synonyms of plum

Image of
plum

plum in British English 1

(plʌm )

noun

a small rosaceous tree, Prunus domestica, with white flowers and an edible oval fruit that is purple, yellow, or green and contains an oval stone

plum in British English 2

(plʌm )

adjective, adverb

a variant spelling of plumb (sense 3), plumb (sense 4), plumb (sense 5), plumb (sense 6)

plum in American English

(plʌm )

noun

any of various small prunus trees bearing a smooth-skinned, edible drupaceous fruit with a flattened stone

the edible fruit

any of various trees bearing plumlike fruits

a raisin, when used in pudding or cake

plum pudding

the dark bluish-red or reddish-purple color of some plums

something choice or desirable; specif., a well-paying job

Word origin

ME < OE plume, akin to Ger pflaume < WGmc *pruma < VL *pruna: see prune2

plum in American English 1

(plʌm) (adjective plummer, plummest)

noun

the drupaceous fruit of any of several trees belonging to the genus Prunus, of the rose family, having an oblong stone

the tree itself

any of various other trees bearing a plumlike fruit

the fruit itself

a sugarplum

a raisin, as in a cake or pudding

a deep purple varying from bluish to reddish

8. informal

an excellent or desirable thing, as a fine position

The choicest plums went to his old cronies

9. informal

an unanticipated large increase in money or property, as an unexpected legacy; a windfall

The company offered bonuses and other plums

10. Also called: displacer

a large stone used in massive concrete construction

adjective

11.

extremely desirable, rewarding, profitable, or the like

a plum job in the foreign service

Derived forms

plumlike

adjective

Word origin

[bef. 900; ME; OE plūme (c. G Pflaume) ‹‹ Gk proûmnon plum, proúmnē plum tree; cf. prune1]

plum in American English 2

(plʌm)

adjective or adverb

plumb (sense 3), plumb (sense 4), plumb (sense 5), plumb (sense 6), plumb (sense 7)

Examples of 'plum' in a sentence
plum

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

Deep red, with dark spiced plums.When's the best time to remove the lower branches of my plum tree?What's causing the white dust on the leaves of our plum tree?It seems unlikely he has landed a plum City job. Try plum and cherry red.He's got a plum job. Running the V&A is a plum job for the 42-year-old historian. Cherry plum is producing new leaves and sparkling white flowers at the same time. Black plum colour belies bouncy red fruits and the oak is perfectly balanced.WHAT'S wrong with the leaves of my plum tree?

Word lists with
plum

purple, tree

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question: 1

Score: 0 / 5

Which tree am I?

a coniferous tree, Pinus sylvestris, of Europe and W and N Asia, having blue-green needle-like leaves and brown cones with a small prickle on each scale: a valuable timber tree

pine Scots pine yew

Which tree am I?

an Australian name for the camphor tree, now occurring in the wild in parts of Australia

Antarctic beech camphor laurel eucalyptus

Which tree am I?

a pine tree, Pinus radiata, native to the western USA. but grown in Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere to produce building timber

Antarctic beech radiata pine walnut

Which tree am I?

a tall eucalyptus tree, Eucalyptus microcorys, of coastal regions, having soft fibrous bark and conical fruits and yielding a greasy timber

banyalla redwood wandoo

Which tree am I?

any of various tropical American trees of the meliaceous genus Swietenia, esp S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla, valued for their hard reddish-brown wood

ebony guava mahogany

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