PLUMMET DOWN


Meaning of PLUMMET DOWN in English

plum ‧ met /ˈplʌmət, ˈplʌmɪt/ BrE AmE ( also plummet down ) verb [intransitive]

[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: plummet 'metal weight on a plumb line' (14-21 centuries) , from Old French plommet 'small ball of lead' , from plomb ; ⇨ ↑ plumb 1 ]

1 . to suddenly and quickly decrease in value or amount SYN plunge

plummet from something to something

Profits plummeted from £49 million to £11 million.

House prices have plummeted down.

2 . to fall suddenly and quickly from a very high place SYN plunge :

The plane plummeted towards the Earth.

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THESAURUS

▪ decrease to become less in number or amount:

The average rainfall has decreased by around 30 percent.

▪ go down to decrease. Go down is less formal than decrease and is the usual word to use in conversation:

Unemployment has gone down in the past few months.

▪ decline formal to decrease – used with numbers or amounts, or about the level or standard of something:

The standard of living has declined.

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Support for the government is steadily declining.

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Salaries have declined by around 4.5%.

▪ diminish to become smaller or less important:

Union membership diminished from 30,000 at its height to just 2,000 today.

▪ fall/drop to decrease, especially by a large amount. Fall and drop are less formal than decrease :

The number of tigers in the wild has fallen to just over 10,000.

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At night, the temperature drops to minus 20 degrees.

▪ plunge /plʌndʒ/ /plummet /ˈplʌmət, ˈplʌmɪt/ to suddenly decrease very quickly and by a very large amount:

Share prices have plummeted 29% in the last four months.

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Climate change could cause global temperatures to plummet.

▪ slide if a price or value slides, it gradually decreases in a way that causes problems – used especially in news reports:

The dollar fell in late trading in New York yesterday and slid further this morning.

▪ dwindle /ˈdwɪndl/ to gradually decrease until there is very little left of something, especially numbers or amounts, popularity, or importance:

Support for the theory is dwindling.

▪ taper off /ˈteɪpə $ -ər/ if a number or the amount of an activity that is happening tapers off, it gradually decreases, especially so that it stops completely:

Political violence tapered off after the elections.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.