# plumber

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈplʌm.ɚ/ · frequency rank #18,160

## Definitions
1. 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. A person who investigates or prevents leaks of information.
4. 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.
5. A urologist.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **plume** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/plumber-vs-plume)
- **plumes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/plumber-vs-plumes)
- **plunder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/plumber-vs-plunder)
- **plunger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/plumber-vs-plunger)
- **Plummer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/plumber-vs-plummer)
- **plummet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/plumber-vs-plummet)
- **plumb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/plumb-vs-plumber)

## Common misspellings (11)
`lpumber`, `pllumber`, `plmuber`, `plubmer`, `plumbber`, `plumberr`, `plumbre`, `plumebr`, `plummber`, `pplumber`, `pulmber`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/plumber