Plump

How to spell plump

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce plump

What does plump mean?

1. adjectiveHaving a full, rounded shape; pleasantly fleshy or well filled out.
2. verbTo make or become rounded and full, often by shaking or filling with air.
3. verbTo decide firmly in favour of one option, usually in the phrase 'plump for'.

Plump in a sentence

• adjective

  The plump tomatoes were perfect for the salad.

• verb

  She likes to plump the cushions before guests arrive.

• verb

  Unable to decide, they finally plump for the cheaper hotel.

• adjective

  She rested her head on a plump feather pillow.

• verb

  A good moisturiser can plump the skin.

• verb

  Most voters plump for the candidate they already knew.

Where does plump come from?

Language of origin: Dutch

Plump arrived in English in the late Middle Ages, around the 1400s, most likely from Middle Dutch or Low German plomp, an echoic word that suggested something blunt, dull, or heavy, the kind of thing that lands with a flat thud. The same sound-based root sits behind the verb 'to plump down', meaning to drop or fall heavily, which preserves that older flavour. Over time the sense softened from clumsy or blunt toward agreeably rounded and well filled out, so that by the 1500s it could describe a chubby cheek or a full cushion. The British habit of saying you 'plump for' a choice grew out of the idea of coming down firmly and decisively on one option. Because the word is short and phonetically spelled, its spelling has stayed remarkably stable, with the simple consonant cluster -mp giving few writers any trouble.

How the word is built

• plump (single root, of Germanic origin, originally meaning blunt or dull, later rounded)