plumbing

verb

Definition of plumbingnext
present participle of plumb
as in scaling
to measure the depth of (as a body of water) typically with a weighted line plumbed the bay to make sure it was deep enough for the ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of plumbing There is no reading of the statute under which enforcing the Building Code includes plumbing a restaurant’s kitchen. — Fabiola Stuyvesant, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026 Capital Engineering, a mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering firm the district has worked with in the past, has been tapped to help assess the district’s losses and develop a plan for remedying the issue. — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2026 The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon join the ranks of iconic observatories like the Hubble and James Webb telescopes – plumbing the far reaches of the cosmos to answer some of life's greatest mysteries. — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026 Getty Images At first sight, the mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering work involved in construction doesn’t seem a prime target for disruption from artificial intelligence. — David Prosser, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 But even as Moon landings, space shuttles, and reusable rockets seized the headlines, Link, along with a stubborn handful of engineers, explorers, and flat-out dreamers, kept plumbing the ocean instead. — Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 2 July 2026 Online influencers can invent careers by plumbing the court docket in a celebrity lawsuit (see the Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni case). — Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 20 June 2026 Entertainment giants are truly grasping for any hint of intellectual property this days — including by plumbing the depths of random playground games. — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2026 The projects have ranged from custom built-ins to plumbing work and even an entire basement apartment. — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plumbing
  1. scaling
  2. spanning
Verb
  • The performance of hydrocarbons must be considered as part of a wider system that is simultaneously scaling clean electricity input and improving efficiency across the value chain.
    — H.E. Dr Abdulla Saif Al Jarwan, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • For São Paulo, Paulino moved from watercolor on paper to painting on canvas, scaling her drawings up to nearly 9 feet by 20 feet.
    — Tatiane de Assis, ARTnews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of scaling
Verb
  • Investigators examined allegations involving more than 300 victims spanning from 1950 through 2011.
    — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Behind every live event is a vast, complex network of businesses spanning production, logistics, staging, technology and venue operations, many of them relatively small and specialized.
    — Davis Noell, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of spanning

Browse Nearby Words

plumbed
plumbing
plumbs
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Cite this Entry

“Plumbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plumbing. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on plumbing

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about plumbing

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