plumbing

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈplʌmɪŋ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌmɪŋ

Noun

plumbing (countable and uncountable, plural plumbings)

1. The pipes, together with the joints, tanks, stopcocks, taps, and other fixtures of a water, gas, or sewage system in a house or other building.

   Water was dripping from the ceiling, so we figured there was a problem with the plumbing.

2. The trade or occupation of a plumber.
3. (informal) A system of vessels or ducts in the human body, especially the genitourinary system.

   My plumbing was playing up, so I had to see the doctor.

   • 1978 December 9, Nancy Walker, “Sexism and Racism at GCN?”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 10:

     I am sure that there are those who dislike me […] but as a person, not for the sake of my plumbing.

   • 2017 June 30, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 966 - Déjà vu:

     ‹Why did I always think the ladies' room would be less gross? How do you girls freaking miss with your plumbing!?›

4. (informal, figurative) Practical, concrete work serving to support other work.

   This is not scientific research as such: it's just plumbing.

5. (countable) A Murasugi sum where each disk summed along has its boundary subdivided into four segments.

Synonyms

• (genitourinary system): waterworks (informal)

Derived terms

• inspect the plumbing
• plumbing snake
• plumbing system

 

Related terms

• plumb
• plumber

Translations

pipes, etc, of a water/gas/sewage system in a building

• Armenian: խողովակաշար (hy) (xoġovakašar), ջրմուղ (hy) (ǰrmuġ)
• Bulgarian: водопровод (bg) m (vodoprovod)
• Dutch: loodgieterswerk n, riolering (nl) f
• Finnish: putkisto (fi)
• French: tuyauterie (fr) f, plomberie (fr) f
• German: Verrohrung f, Rohrleitung (de) f, Installation (de) f
• Greek: υδραυλικά (el) n pl (ydravliká)
• Hungarian: vízvezeték szerelés
• Indonesian: ledeng (id), pipa ledeng, saluran pipa
• Italian: impianto idraulico m, rubinetteria (it) f
• Japanese: 配管 (ja) (haikan); (water systems) 上下水道設備 (jōge-suidō-setsubi)
• Macedonian: водовод m (vodovod)
• Polish: instalacja wodno-kanalizacyjna f
• Portuguese: encanamento (pt) m
• Romanian: țevărie (ro)
• Russian: санте́хника (ru) f (santéxnika)
• Serbo-Croatian: vȍdovōd (sh) m
• Spanish: cañería (es) f
• Swedish: ledningsdragning c, rörmokeri n, VVS (sv)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

trade or occupation of a plumber

• Arabic: سِبَاكَة f (sibāka)
• Dutch: loodgieterswerk n
• French: plomberie (fr) f
• German: Klempnerei (de) f, Klempnerarbeit f
• Greek: υδραυλικές εργασίες f pl (ydravlikés ergasíes)
• Italian: lavoro di idraulico m
• Japanese: (trade) 配管業 (haikan-gyō); (occupation) 配管工 (ja) (haikan-kō)
• Macedonian: водоводџиство n (vodovoddžistvo), водоинсталација f (vodoinstalacija)
• Spanish: fontanería f, plomería (es) f
• Swedish: rörmokeri n
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

informal: system of vessels or ducts in the human body, especially the genitourinary system

• Finnish: suolisto (fi), suolet (fi), ruoansulatus (fi)
• French: tuyauterie (fr) f
• German: Gedärm (de) n, Unterleib (de) m
• Swedish: mage (sv) c, matsmältning (sv), urinvägarna (sv) c pl

a Murasugi sum

• French: plombage (fr) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} Klempnerarbeit f
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 배관공사 (baegwan'gongsa)
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 配管 (zh)

See also

• waterworks