verb · academic
plummet
/ˈplʌmɪt/PLU·mmet
task1
to fall steeply and suddenly
Examples
“After the scandal the company's share price plummeted.”
“Tourist numbers plummeted during the recession.”
“Sales plummeted by nearly half in a single quarter.”
Band 8 sentence
“Following the policy change, employment figures plummeted, wiping out gains from the previous year.”
Collocations
- plummet by (percentage/amount)
- plummet to (a level)
Word family
plummet verbplummet noun (less common, e.g. 'a plummet')
Common mistakes
fall very much→plummet
decrease to 5%→decrease by 5%
Say it for a higher band
5drop a lot→6fall sharply→7+plummet
Synonyms
drop
Easily confused
fall
“After the announcement, visitor numbers plummeted overnight.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Rate of change
Learn it with its set