Word.ws English Dictionary

plunging

/ˈplʌn.d͡ʒɪŋ/

plunging is the present participle and gerund of plunge.

Adjective

plunging (not comparable)

  1. That descends steeply.
  2. Aimed from higher ground, as fire upon an enemy.
  3. Very low-cut.

Noun

plunging (plural plungings)

  1. An occurrence of putting or sinking under water or other fluid.
  2. A headlong violent motion like that of a horse trying to throw its rider.
    • Like one who after a night of drunken revelry hies to his bed, still reeling, but with conscience yet pricking him, as the plungings of the Roman race-horse but so much the more strike his steel tags into him; […].1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick; or The Whale
    • Then followed a confusion of kicks, cuffs, tramplings and plungings, accompanied by a thunderous intermingling of volleyed curses, and finally a bitter apostrophe to the mule, which must have broken its spirit, for hostilities seemed to cease from that moment.1881, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), The Prince and The Pauper, Complete

Meaning of plunge

Verb

plunge (third-person singular simple present plunges, present participle plunging, simple past and past participle plunged)

  1. (transitive) To thrust into liquid, or into any penetrable substance; to immerse.
    • to plunge the body into water
  2. (figuratively, transitive) To cast, stab or throw deep and fast into some thing, state, condition or action.
    • to plunge a dagger into the breast
  3. (obsolete, transitive) To baptize by immersion.
  4. (intransitive) To dive, leap or rush (into water or some liquid); to submerge oneself.
    • he plunged into the river
  5. (figuratively, intransitive) To fall or rush headlong into some thing, action, state or condition.
    • to plunge into debt
    Synonyms:
    slump
  6. (intransitive) To pitch or throw oneself headlong or violently forward, as a horse does.
    • [N]ature affects a looſe kinde of liberty, vvhich it cannot indure to have reſtrained: neither fares it othervviſe vvith it, then vvith ſome vvilde colt; which at the firſt taking up, flings and plunges, and vvill ſtand on no ground; but after it hath been ſomvvhile diſciplin'd at the Poſt, is...1648, J[oseph] Hall, chapter LXXXVI, in Select Thoughts: Or, Choice Helps for a Pious Spirit. […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Brooke, […], published 1654, →OCLC, pages 249–250

See all 16 meanings of plunge

Forms of plunging

pluralplungings

Words formed from plunging

Phrases with plunging

Words that rhyme with plunging

Questions about plunging

What does plunging mean?
Plunging means that descends steeply.
What is plunging the present participle and gerund of?
Plunging is the present participle and gerund of plunge.
What part of speech is plunging?
Plunging can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce plunging?
Plunging is pronounced /ˈplʌn.d͡ʒɪŋ/.

Words near plunging in the dictionary

  1. plunges
  2. plunges in
  3. plunges into
  4. plungest
  5. plungeth
  6. plunging
  7. plunging in
  8. plunging into
  9. plunging neckline
  10. plunging necklines
  11. plungingly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: plunging (page history and authors); plunge (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.

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