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plumbing

/pləmɪŋ/

/ˈpləmɪŋ/

Other forms: plumbings

Indoor plumbing is what makes civilization great. Plumbing refers to the pipes that get the water in and the sewage out. If a snake shows up in the toilet, it probably came in through the plumbing. Yikes!

You can use the noun plumbing whether you're talking about the bathroom sink, the pipes connected to your dishwasher, or the bathtub drain. A home's heating system often consists of plumbing too. The work of fixing or installing this type of system is also plumbing. The word's earliest meaning was "the weighting of a fishing line," from plumb, originally "to sink like lead," which has the Latin root plumba, or "lead."

Definitions of plumbing
  1. noun
    utility consisting of the pipes and fixtures for the distribution of water or gas in a building and for the disposal of sewage
    synonyms: plumbing system
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    type of:
    utility
    a facility composed of one or more pieces of equipment connected to or part of a structure and designed to provide a service such as heat or electricity or water or sewage disposal
  2. noun
    the occupation of a plumber (installing and repairing pipes and fixtures for water or gas or sewage in a building)
    synonyms: plumbery
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    type of:
    craft, trade
    the skilled practice of a practical occupation
  3. noun
    measuring the depths of the oceans
    synonyms: bathymetry
    see moresee less
    type of:
    measure, measurement, measuring, mensuration
    the act or process of assigning numbers to phenomena according to a rule
Pronunciation
US

/pləmɪŋ/

UK

/ˈpləmɪŋ/

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