plunge

The word "plunge" describes the action of moving very quickly into something. It’s often used when the action involves water.

• Jeff plunged into the water from the diving board.
• It feels good to plunge into a hot bath after a long day at work.
• The toilet needs to be plunged. (When the toilet is clogged, you use a plunger to fix the problem.)

You can also use "plunge" when doing activities that involve work, business, or money:

• Let’s plunge into this paperwork and get it over with.
• David plunged too quickly into a business partnership and lost a lot of money.
• They plunged almost all of their money into the stock market and became rich.

Sometimes the word "plunge" describes a decrease or something that goes down very quickly:

• Support for the war is plunging.
• Sales at this store usually plunge in February.
• The woman’s dress has a plunging neckline.

When a person "takes the plunge," this expression usually means that a very big decision has been made:

• They’re going to take the plunge and get married.
• Olga took the plunge and put down a $20,000 deposit on a house.
• I’m thinking about leaving my job, but I’m not quite ready to take the plunge. (In this group of sentences, "plunge" is a noun.)

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This page was first published on December 22, 2011.