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Glite Dictionary
💼 To drop heavily 🪑 To sit suddenly
to plump down

to plump down

7.2
To put something or yourself down suddenly and heavily, often making a noise
  • phrasal verb
  • /plʌmp daʊn/
  • UK
translation icon : dejar caer
  • She plumped down the box with a thud, disturbing the peace of the quiet room.

Examples

  • The tired child plumped down onto the grass, too exhausted to play any longer.

  • After a long day at work, he just wanted to plump down on the couch and relax.

  • OK, so to help show the speed of this car, I'm going to plump down an entire bag of flour here and watch it get obliterated in slow MO.

Synonyms

to slump
vsto plump down
55 4.0

To sit down or fall forward suddenly and heavily

is similar but stresses sudden noisy setting rather than posture
to flop
vsto plump down
26 2.3

To fall or sit down heavily and suddenly because you are tired

is more about suddenness and noise than tired relaxation
to slam down
vsto plump down
  • Informal
14 6.0

Put something down hard so it makes a loud noise or quickly drink something

is focused on sudden noisy setting down rather than rapid consumption
to plunk
vsto plump down
12 6.0

To put down something or sit down heavily so it makes a loud sound

is the same idea but usually even more sudden and forceful
to plop
vsto plump down
12 3.6

To sit or place something down suddenly with a soft sound

is like this but generally sounds harder and more noisy
to plunk down
vsto plump down
  • Informal
6 6.7

To put something down so it makes a noise or to pay money quickly

is similarly abrupt but typically feels even heavier or louder
to plonk
vsto plump down
  • UK
2 7.8

To put something down heavily and loudly

is similar but usually stresses the sudden force over carelessness
to plump
vsto plump down
1 4.1

To sit or drop down heavily and suddenly

is more sudden and often louder than this action
to plank
vsto plump down
1 7.2

To drop something or yourself down heavily, often making a noise

is similar but often implies a quicker or heavier motion
to plonk down
vsto plump down
  • UK
1 7.6

Sit or put something down heavily and carelessly

is more about the sudden noisy setting down than casual care
to plank down
vsto plump down
8.0

To put something down hard, often making a loud sound

is closer in suddenness but less about carelessness
to flump
vsto plump down
  • Informal
8.8

To fall or put something down heavily so it makes a dull sound

is more abrupt and often produces a sharper noise
to flump down
vsto plump down
  • Informal
7.5

To sit or fall down suddenly and heavily, often because you are tired

is more about forceful setting down than relaxed collapse
to land on one's tush
vsto plump down
  • Baby Talk
9.3

To fall or sit down suddenly and hit your bottom

is about a sudden heavy setting but not specifically landing on buttocks

Antonyms

to lift
553 1.0

To raise something higher by hand or with a machine

How Forceful

to slam down
  • Informal
14 6.0
to plump down
  • UK
7.2
to plop
12 3.6
to drop
∞ 1.0
to set down
70 1.7

Surface Forms

plump down infinitive
plumped down past
plumped down past participle
plumping down present participle
plumps down third person singular

Morphology

plump + down

The sense 'to sit or drop heavily or suddenly' is directly derivable from combining 'plump' (to drop or set oneself down with force) with the directional particle 'down', which reinforces movement to a lower position. This straightforward motion+direction composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern in English phrasal verbs, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Plump down comes from plump, a word that sounds like a soft, heavy thud, and down, meaning toward a lower place. The picture of something falling with a quick, heavy sound helps show why it means 'to set something or oneself down with a sudden, heavy, or noisy motion'.