plum

Pluralplums

1. 1
   fruitnouncountable

   A round or oval stone fruit with smooth skin, juicy flesh, and a single hard pit, borne by trees of the genus Prunus.

   He sliced a plum and tossed it into the summer salad.

   The market sold ripe plums by the crate every August.

2. 2
   fruit like itnouncountable

   An edible, fleshy fruit that resembles a plum but is borne by a tree or shrub outside the genus Prunus; also the tree on which it grows.

   Jamun trees line the road outside the village, and in early summer their dark purple plums stain the asphalt.

   Harvesters in northern Australia gather the sour green fruit of the Kakadu plum from wild trees.

   Note

   Here the word is a name given by likeness rather than by kinship. The European fruit and its cousins in Prunus are plums by botany; these fruits earn the name by resembling them, fleshy and usually built around a single large seed or stone. Such names usually need a qualifier, as in Kakadu plum, because plum alone points to the familiar fruit. Once the tree has been named, as with the jamun, plain plums is enough.

3. 3
   color namenoununcountable

   A dark bluish-red color, matching the skin of ripe plums.

   The designer chose plum for the fall collection's main coats.

   Deep plum looks striking against pale gray walls.

4. 4
   purple-coloredadjective

   Of a dark bluish-red color.

   He chose a plum suit for the evening event.

   The walls were painted a deep plum tone.

   UsagePlum-colored says the same more clearly where plain plum might be read as 'choice', as in a plum job.

5. 5
   prized thingnouncountable

   A highly desirable thing of its kind; a prize selection, or an especially good job, appointment, or assignment.

   The ambassadorship was the biggest plum the new government had to hand out.

   Among all the contracts up for bid, that one was the plum everyone wanted.

   Similarprize, catch, jewel, gem

   Note

   The fruit turned into a reward: something worth reaching for and picking before anyone else does. It suits patronage, as when a mayor hands cushy plums to his cronies, but it also covers any find a rival would envy. William Blades, in The Enemies of Books (1880), uses it for prize finds that fell into a London dealer's lap. Placed before another noun, it becomes the adjective meaning "choice". Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • William Blades wrote The Enemies of Books, first published as a book in 1880. archive.org
   • The first-edition title page dates the book to 1880. archive.org
   • Blades uses “plums” for valuable book finds obtained by a London dealer. archive.org
6. 6
   very desirableadjective

   Especially desirable, lavish, or preferred; choice of its kind.

   The reporter was given the plum assignment of covering the royal tour.

   Investors competed for the plum positions on the new board.

   UsageGoes before the noun: a plum job, a plum role. Context decides: a plum dress is a color, a plum role is coveted.

   Similarchoice, prime, coveted, desirable, prize

   Oppositeundesirable, menial, lowly

7. 7
   fruit treenouncountable

   A tree or shrub, cultivated or wild, of any of various Prunus species that bears plums.

   The orchard's oldest plum still bears heavily after forty years.

   A plum can take several years to mature before it fruits well.

8. 8
   completelyadverbcolloquialUS

   Completely or utterly; to the fullest degree.

   By the end of the day the dog was plum exhausted.

   He was plum certain he'd locked the door, yet found it open.

   UsageGoes straight before an adjective: plum crazy, plum worn out. Also spelled plumb.

   Similarcompletely, utterly, totally, absolutely, thoroughly

   Note

   The spelling is a sound-based form of plumb, whose sense of 'vertical' also gave it this sense of 'completely'. The image is something straight and complete, all the way through. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Adverbial plum is a phonetic spelling of plumb. en.wiktionary.org

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