# plumber

Pronunciation: US say "PLUM-er" /ˈplʌmɚ/; UK say "PLUM-uh" /ˈplʌmə/

## Noun

1. A tradesperson who supplies, fits, and repairs the pipes and fixtures that carry water, gas, or drainage.
   - Simple: A worker who fits and fixes water pipes, gas pipes, and drains.
   - _After the storm flooded the cellar, they hired a plumber to replace the damaged piping._
   - _Every new building needs a licensed plumber to connect its supply and drainage lines._
2. A tradesperson who installs the piping for drinking water and the lines that remove wastewater.
   - Simple: A worker who puts in the pipes that bring clean water in and carry waste water away.
   - _The contractor brought in a plumber to lay the supply and waste lines before the walls went up._
   - _Our plumber connected the bathroom to both the freshwater main and the sewer._
3. A person tasked with investigating or preventing the leaking of confidential information from an organization.
   - Simple: A person whose job is to find and stop secret information from getting out.
   - _After the memo appeared in the press, the agency brought in a plumber to trace the source._
   - _The administration's plumber spent months hunting down the official feeding documents to journalists._
8. A derisive, jocular nickname for a urologist, the physician who treats the urinary tract and male reproductive system. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude, joking word for a doctor who treats problems with peeing and the bladder.
   - _He grumbled that the plumber kept him waiting an hour before the bladder scan._
   - _Every man over fifty in the practice ended up referred to the plumber sooner or later._
10. In the Royal Navy, a young apprentice aged sixteen to eighteen trained in technical skills at the Dockyard Schools to become an artificer. *(colloquial, British)*
   - Simple: In the British Navy, a teenage boy training to become a skilled mechanic.
   - _By eighteen, the plumber had finished his training and qualified as an artificer._
   - _The dockyard enrolled a fresh intake of plumbers each September._

## Verb

4. To earn one's living by fitting and repairing pipes and drainage systems. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To do the job of fitting and fixing pipes.
   - _After his apprenticeship, he chose to plumber rather than join the factory._
   - _They plumber across three counties, taking whatever pipework comes their way._
5. To carry out pipe-fitting and repair work on a particular building or system. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To do a plumber's work on something, such as fixing its pipes.
   - _A local firm agreed to plumber the new clinic at cost._
   - _He spent the summer plumbering rental units across town._
6. To provide a building or space with the piping and fixtures for water supply and drainage. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To put pipes and water fittings into a building.
   - _Crews must plumber each apartment before the inspectors arrive._
   - _The developer plumbered the entire block for both gas and water._
7. To spoil or completely ruin something, typically through clumsy or careless handling. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To mess something up so badly that it is ruined.
   - _One careless edit can plumber an entire manuscript._
   - _He plumbered the negotiation by losing his temper at the wrong moment._
9. To work out, contrive, or put together something, often by ingenious effort. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To make or work out something, often with effort or cleverness.
   - _The crew tried to plumber some scheme that would keep them all paid._
   - _He plumbered a working engine out of scrap parts._

## Noun

11. A craftsman who works with lead, especially in shaping, beating, or soldering it into roofs, gutters, and seams. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A worker who makes or repairs things made of lead.
   - _The cathedral's plumber recast the lead flashing around the spire each generation._
   - _Guild masters trained each plumber to beat and solder lead into watertight seams._

## Origin

It comes from Middle English plumber, from Old French plummier (modern French plombier), from Latin plumbārius, from plumbum meaning "lead." The verb sense "to botch" is perhaps from the negative stereotype of the occupation.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/plumber (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).