From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishplumpplump1 /plʌmp/ ●○○ adjective 1 FATslightly fat in a fairly pleasant way – used especially about women or children, often to avoid saying the word ‘fat’ The nurse was a cheerful plump woman. The baby’s nice and plump.► see thesaurus at fat2 ROUNDround and full in a way that looks attractive plump soft pillows plump juicy tomatoes —plumpness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
plump• The comforters on the beds were abnormally plump.• Paula had silver bracelets on her plump arms.• Frieda's mother was a plump, cheerful woman, quick with a laugh.• The doctor's wife had a plump face and a small mouth.• Stevie is a plump healthy-looking child.• plump juicy strawberries• The good cut made his shoulders look their proper width and reduced his generally plump look.• The four plump man-apes were still there, and now they were doing extraordinary things.• The stuffed dates looked like plump roaches.• He's a little on the plump side, but nevertheless quite handsome.• Isabel bounced once against the plump straw mattress, then made a frantic bid for freedom.• You're too short and too plump - though your skin's not that bad.• She must have been in her sixties, plump, with a crown of dyed brown curls.• a plump woman in her fifties• Miss Withington was a small, plump young woman between Agnes and Prudence in age.plumpplump2 verb 1 (also plump up) [transitive] to gently hit cushions or pillows in order to make them rounder and softer2 → plump (yourself) down3 DOWN[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to put something down suddenly and carelessly SYN plonk Plump the bags down anywhere you like.4 (also plump up) [intransitive, transitive] if dried fruit plumps up, or if you plump it up, it becomes fatter and softer when in liquid Soak the apricots and raisins until the fruit plumps up. → plump for something/somebody→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
plump• Add oysters and saute until they just begin to plump, about 1 minute.• Do you plump for a bottle with an attractive label or simply stick to a wine that is familiar?• It could be the question, whether to plump for a great evolutionary jump or stay put in the icy brine.• We could just plump for Aristotle's report, as the earliest and therefore most reliable.• He'd have liked to plump for the Algarve but, he said wistfully, you do go over the £1,000.• You can plump the bags down anywhere you like.• Boil the dried fruit until it plumps up in the cooking liquid.Origin plump1 (1400-1500) Middle Dutch plomp “dull, not sharp” plump2 1. (1500-1600) → PLUMP12. (1200-1300) Copying the action 