plumbing

Noun

plumbing (countable and uncountable, plural plumbings)

1. The pipes, together with the joints, tanks, stopcocks, taps, and other fixtures of a water, gas, or sewage system in a house or other building.
   • Water was dripping from the ceiling, so we figured there was a problem with the plumbing.
2. The trade or occupation of a plumber.
3. (informal) A system of vessels or ducts in the human body, especially the genitourinary system.
   • My plumbing was playing up, so I had to see the doctor.
   • I am sure that there are those who dislike me […] but as a person, not for the sake of my plumbing.1978 December 9, Nancy Walker, “Sexism and Racism at GCN?”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 10
4. (figuratively, informal) Practical, concrete work serving to support other work.
   • This is not scientific research as such: it's just plumbing.
5. (countable) A Murasugi sum where each disk summed along has its boundary subdivided into four segments.
6. (euphemistic, slang) The genitourinary system.

   Synonyms:

   waterworks

7. (Git) The set of Git commands, such as `git hash-object` and `git write-tree`, which control the low-level state of the repository, typically not intended to be used in ordinary situations.
   • Coordinate term: porcelain
   • The2016, Jakub Narębski, “Keeping History Clean”, in Mastering Git, Birmingham, West Midlands: Packt Publishing Ltd., page 227