plumber

Meaning

Noun

1. (dated) One who works in or with lead.
2. One who furnishes, fits, and repairs pipes and other apparatus for the conveyance of water, gas, or drainage.
3. One who furnishes, fits, and repairs pipes and other apparatus for the conveyance of water, gas, or drainage.
4. A person who investigates or prevents leaks of information.
5. (British, informal) In the Royal Navy, an apprentice, a boy aged 16 to 18, who is trained in technical skills at the Dockyard Schools to become an artificer.
6. (derogatory, slang) A urologist.

Verb

1. (US, slang, transitive) To botch or ruin.
2. (informal, intransitive, rare) To work as a plumber.
3. (informal, rare, transitive) To work on (something) as a plumber.
4. (rare, slang, transitive) To do, work, devise (something).
5. (informal, rare, transitive) To equip (something) with plumbing.

Synonyms

tinsmith

pipe fitter

tinman

pipefitter

pipeman

metalworker

plumbing specialist

piper

whitesmith

Translations

plombier

idraulico

fontanero

Klempner

loodgieter

υδραυλικός

Installateur

plomero

encanador

bombeiro

🧑‍🚒

lattoniere

hojalatero

stagnaio

fontaner

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈplʌmɚ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: plumber

In summary

From Middle English plumber, from Old French plummier (French plombier); from Latin plumbārius, from plumbum (“lead or lead shot”).
The verb sense “to botch” is perhaps from the negative stereotype of the occupation.