plump1
/plʌmp
/adjective
1Having a full rounded shape: the berries were plump and sweet...
- The liver was plump and full of flavor, and it melted beautifully on my tongue.
- Some of them are plump and juicy and full of savory flavor, but others are hard and dry.
- A bright hue, a rosy blush, pretty skin that's blemish free, and a plump shape - these are generally key for ripe fruits.
Synonyms
chubby, fat, stout, rotund, buxom, well upholstered, well covered, well padded, of ample proportions, ample, roly-poly, round, rounded, well rounded, full, fattish, dumpy, chunky, broad in the beam, portly, overweight, fleshy, paunchy, bulky, corpulent
informal tubby, pudgy, beefy, porky, blubbery, poddy
British informal podgy, fubsy
North American informal zaftig, corn-fed, lard-assed
archaic pursy
rare abdominous
1.1(Of a person) rather fat: she wore an outfit she’d always wanted to try but felt she was too plump to risk...
- They were all rather plump people and Alina's slender figure did not fit in with them.
- He was rather plump, and was wearing a ridiculous hat.
- The officer frowned down at the shorter, rather plump man.
verb [with object]
1Shake or pat (a cushion or pillow) to adjust its stuffing and make it rounded and soft: she plumped up her pillows...
- The red haired nurse eventually left after plumping my pillow and fetching me some water.
- When she's not tending to her family, Vera makes tea and plumps cushions for sick neighbours.
- I was running from the kitchen to the living room, plumping the cushions and getting drinks in place, closing curtains to avoid sun-glare, the quickest of showers, a change into fresh clothes.
1.1 [no object] (plump up) Become rounder and fatter: stew the dried fruits gently until they plump up...
- Such treatments are used to reshape the face, such as plumping up the lips.
- I've always had thin lips and I wanted them plumped up to be fashionable.
- New techniques involving lasers to blast uneven pigmentation, acid peels to smooth crepey skin and injections to plump up wrinkles or freeze facial muscles have all been developed and refined over the last decade.
Derivatives
plumpish
- Heck, there even was a short, plumpish, blonde attendant who sounded Russian.
- The plumpish figures are painted with a 15 th-century-style gloss.
- She wore a pearl necklace to match those on her dress and even her hair, a tower of blonde streaked curls done up in such a fashion that a few loose strands framed her plumpish face perfectly, was adorned with strands of pearls.
plumply
- Fisher is plumply overdeveloped, more than simply enticing, bursting her seams, and she's the aggressor and the liar in the tale.
- Courtney, plumply likeable in a snug hat, looked politely bemused.
- It was flavourless and odourless, but it felt very satisfying sitting plumply on my tongue.
plumpy
- And very snug she is, in a plumpy nest of goosedown, with the light mohair blanket laid over the top to keep the warm in.
- They just aren't attractive in my humble opinion, and the more I go around town, the more I see both overweight plumpy men and young attractive men who instantly become unattractive because of their clothing choices.
Origin
Late 15th century (in the sense 'blunt, forthright'): related to Middle Dutch plomp, Middle Low German plump, plomp 'blunt, obtuse, blockish'. The sense has become appreciative, perhaps by association with plum.
Rhymes
plump2
/plʌmp/verb
1 [with object and adverbial of place] Set down heavily or unceremoniously: she plumped her bag on the table...
- She glared back at him and then picked up her bag and moved one seat down, plumping her bag on the seat between them.
- The waiter, almost literally staggering under the weight, plumped a huge oval plateful of sizzling ribs in front of Lili.
- I plumped my mother under a tree and walked around to take in some action.
Synonyms
put, put down, set, set down, deposit, dump, stick, place
informal plonk
British informal bung
North American informal plunk
1.1 (plump oneself) Sit down heavily and unceremoniously: she plumped herself down in the nearest seat [no object]: he plumped down on the bench beside me...
- ‘Let's sit here,’ she brayed and plumped herself in front of me.
- Ten minutes into the production, four young lads tear around the performance space, plump themselves down to quietly watch the show for half an hour, and then tear off again - just as Decky and his friends do within the play.
- She plumped herself on the couch, looking and sounding exhausted.
Synonyms
flop, collapse, sink, fall, drop, slump, plop oneself
informal plonk oneself
North American informal plank oneself
2 [no object] (plump for) Decide definitely in favour of (one of two or more possibilities): offered a choice of drinks, he plumped for brandy...
- Miffed and thirsty, some filed out to find solace in pricey cybercafes, while others decided to plump for the free buffet chicken wings.
- Given the choice of shirt colour, it was assumed that Eriksson would plump for the lucky red favoured by England these days.
- The votes were reasonably predictable with a majority plumping for favourites France.
Synonyms
choose, decide on, go for, opt for, pick, pick out, settle on, select, take, elect, fix on, come down in favour of, vote for, single out, prefer;
British pitch on
noun archaic
An abrupt plunge; a heavy fall: the wagon came into a deep hole, with such a plump
adverb informal
1With a sudden or heavy fall: she sat down plump on the bed...
- I sat down plump on the ground, almost falling into the pool.
2 dated Directly and bluntly: he must tell her plump and plain that he was on the dole
Origin
Late Middle English: related to Middle Low German plumpen, Middle Dutch plompen 'fall into water', probably of imitative origin.
plump3
/plʌmp/noun rare
A flock of wildfowl: a plump of ducks rose at the same time...
- To her left was a plump of live ducks looking on and to her right a sack full of slaughtered, disembowelled, and plucked carcasses.
- In a nearby gut of water, a plump of geese clustered together.
- Whats sportsman is there who at some time may not have been crossed by a flock of geese or a plump of wild ducks as he has been shooting pheasants or woodcocks?
Origin
Late Middle English (in sense 'group of people'): of uncertain origin; possibly related to clump and lump1.