plume

UK/ˈpluːm//ˈplum/

plume noun: a feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration. Also the ellipsis of plume moth.

Noun

plume (plural plumes)

(archaic, literary, poetic) A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.
- Near-synonym: aigrette
- Under a Coronet his flowing haire / In curles on either cheek plaid, wings he wore / Of many a colourd plume ſprinkl'd with Gold, / His habit fit for ſpeed ſuccinct, and held / Before his decent ſteps a Silver wand.1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
Synonyms:

aigrette
(archaic, literary, poetic) A cluster of feathers worn as an ornament, especially on a helmet; a hackle.
- Near-synonym: aigrette
- The fearful infant turn'd his head away, / And on his nurſe's neck reclining lay, / His unknown father ſhunning with affright, / And looking back on ſo uncouth a ſight; / Daunted to ſee a face with ſteel o'er-ſpread, / And his high plume that nodded o'er his head.a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The Last Parting of Hector and Andromache. From the Sixth Book of the Iliad.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and...
Synonyms:

aigrette
(figuratively) A token of honour or prowess; that on which one prides oneself; a prize or reward.
- But well thou comſt / Before thy fellows, ambitious to win / From me ſom Plume, that thy ſucceſs may ſhow / Deſtruction to the reſt: […]1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
Synonyms:

feather in one's cap
The vane (“flattened, web-like part”) of a feather, especially when on a quill pen or the fletching of an arrow.
Things resembling a feather.
- Tidal gravitational effects cause plumes of sodium silicate to erupt from Elaaden's core, depositing unusually pure silicon sand across the surface—invaluable for manufacturing high-performance computer hardware.2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Elaaden Codex entry
1. A cloud formed by a dispersed substance fanning out or spreading.
  - After the explosion, a plume of smoke could be seen in the sky for miles around.
  - The pollutant creates a contaminant plume within an aquifer.
2. An upward spray of mist or water.
3. An arc of glowing material (chiefly gases) erupting from the surface of a star.
4. A large and flexible panicle of an inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses.
5. The furry tail of certain dog breeds (such as the Samoyed) that curls over their backs or stands erect.
6. More fully gill plume: a feathery gill of some crustaceans and molluscs.

Verb

plume (third-person singular simple present plumes, present participle pluming, simple past and past participle plumed)

(also, figuratively, transitive) To adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes, or as if with feathers or plumes.

Synonyms:

feather, fledge
(reflexive, transitive) Chiefly of a bird: to arrange and preen the feathers of, specifically in preparation for flight; hence (figurative), to prepare for (something).
- I make no doubt she has made the best of her way back to the hospitable hall of Sir Watkyn Williams Wynne; and may very possibly be pluming her wings, at this present writing, among the breezy bowers of Wynnstay.1822 May 21, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Hawking”, in Bracebridge Hall, or The Humourists. A Medley. […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: […] C. S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 185
- I bless thee that thy angel-presence still infolds me here! / Forgive me, ere thy spirit plumest for the heavenly sphere.1854 January, J. D. Bell, “Lines. Inscribed to My Mother.”, in D[avis] W[asgatt] Clark, editor, The Ladies’ Repository: A Monthly Periodical, Devoted to Literature and Religion, volume XIV...
(broadly, reflexive, transitive) To congratulate (oneself) proudly, especially concerning something unimportant or when taking credit for another person's effort; to self-congratulate; to preen.
- He plumes himself on his skill.
- pride and plume himself in his Deformities1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London
(archaic, transitive) To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.
- the king cared not to plume his nobility1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret...
- They wou'd have plum'd his eagles on the field1723, Elijah Fenton, Mariamne
Synonyms:

unplume
1. (archaic, broadly, transitive) To peel, to strip completely; to pillage; also, to deprive of power.
2. (archaic, obsolete, transitive) Of a hawk: to pluck the feathers from prey.
  - The hauke proineth when ſhe fetcheth oyle with her beake over the taile, and anointeth her feet and her fethers. She plumeth when ſhe pulleth fethers of anie foule and caſteth them from her.1793, Samuel Johnson, George Steevens, “King Henry IV. Part I.”, in William Shakespeare, The Plays of William Shakespeare: […], volume VIII, London: […] T[homas] Longman, […], →OCLC, act I, scene i...
(intransitive) Of a dispersed substance such as dust or smoke: to fan out or spread in a cloud.
- Smoke plumed from his pipe, then slowly settled towards the floor.

Proper noun capitalized: Plume

Plume

A surname

Also used as

plume is also the ellipsis of plume moth.

plume is also the ellipsis of mantle plume.

plume meaning in Persian

plume in Persian

feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration — see also crest: شاه پر

Examples of plume in a sentence

[T]he most valuable cargo carried by the Titanic wasn't diamonds or gold but 12 cases of ostrich plumes valued at $2.3 million in today's money.2020 August 4, Richard Conniff, “They may Look Goofy, but Ostriches are Nobody’s Fool”, in National Geographic, Washington, D.C.: National...
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y.; London...
Footage posted online showed three plumes of smoke rising from the Kapotnya refinery.2026 June 18, Peter Beaumont, Pjotr Sauer, Jennifer Rankin, “Moscow oil refinery struck in Ukraine’s biggest air raid on city since start...
[…] Ruth resembled the dove that plumeth its wings in readiness to fly away and be at rest, in the ark of everlasting peace and joy.1870 September, J. C. H., “The Story of Ruth. A Modern Version.”, in Dublin University Magazine, a Literary and Political Journal, volume...

All 40 example sentences with plume

Synonyms of plume

All synonyms of plume

Forms of plume

Noun
plural	plumes
Verb
third-person singular present	plumes
present participle	pluming
past participle	plumed
past	plumed
second-person singular present (archaic)	plumest
second-person singular past (archaic)	plumedst
third-person singular present (archaic)	plumeth

Plural of plume: plumes

Origin of plume

From Late Middle English plum, plume (“feather; plumage”), from Anglo-Norman plum, plume, from Old French plume, plome (“feather, plumage”), from Latin plūma (“feather, plumage”) (compare Late Latin plūma (“pen, quill”)), from Proto-Italic *plouksmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”). Doublet of pluma.

Sense 1 (“to adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes”) is derived from Anglo-Norman plumer (“to cover with or provide with feathers”), or its etymon Latin plūmāre, the present active infinitive of plūmō (“to grow feathers, to fledge; to cover with feathers, to feather; to embroider with a feathery pattern”) (and compare Late Latin plūmō (“to attach feathers to arrows; of a hawk: to pluck the feathers from prey; (figurative) to celebrate, praise”)), from plūma (“feather; plumage; down”) (see etymology 1) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Senses 2–4 (“to arrange and preen the feathers of; to congratulate (oneself) proudly; to strip of feathers”) are from Late Middle English plumen (“to remove the feathers from a bird; of a hawk: to pluck the feathers or the head from prey”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Middle French plumer (“to remove the feathers from a bird; to pull out (hairs, especially from a moustache); to rob”), from plūma (see etymology 1). Sense 5 (“to fan out or spread in a cloud”) is derived from plume (noun).

Phrases with plume

Words that rhyme with plume

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about plume

What does plume mean?: Plume means a feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.
What is plume in Persian?: Plume in Persian is شاه پر. See Plume meaning in Persian.
How do you use plume in a sentence?: [T]he most valuable cargo carried by the Titanic wasn't diamonds or gold but 12 cases of ostrich plumes valued at $2.3 million in today's money.
What part of speech is plume?: Plume can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce plume?: Plume is pronounced /ˈpluːm/ (UK).
What is the plural of plume?: The plural of plume is plumes.

Words near plume in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: plume (page history and authors); Plume (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-plume.ogg.

Cite this entry: “plume.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/plume. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.