plume

Noun

  1. anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness; “a plume of smoke”; “grass with large plumes”
  2. a feather or cluster of feathers worn as an ornament
  3. the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds

Verb

  1. rip off; ask an unreasonable price
  2. be proud of; “He prides himself on making it into law school”
  3. deck with a plume; “a plumed helmet”
  4. clean with one’s bill; “The birds preened”
  5. form a plume; “The chimneys were pluming the sky”; “The engine was pluming black smoke”
  6. dress or groom with elaborate care; “She likes to dress when going to the opera”
  1. Zoology a long, soft feather or arrangement of feathers used by a bird for display or worn by a person for ornament a hat with a jaunty ostrich plume

Zoology a part of an animal's body that resembles a feather the antennae are divided into large feathery plumes

a long cloud of smoke or vapor resembling a feather as it spreads from its point of origin as he spoke, the word was accompanied by a white plume of breath

a mass of material, typically a pollutant, spreading from a source a radioactive plume

Geology (also mantle plume) a localized column of hot magma rising by convection in the mantle, believed to cause volcanic activity in hot spots, such as the Hawaiian Islands, away from plate margins.

Verb

  1. [no object] spread out in a shape resembling a feather smoke plumed from the chimneys

[with object] decorate with or as if with feathers I plumed the hat with a couple of soft feathers from the tail of a hawk

  1. Zoology Archaic "plume oneself" (of a bird) preen itself.

feel a great sense of self-satisfaction about something she plumed herself on being cosmopolitan