From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
1. One who, or that which, plunges; a diver.
2. A long solid cylinder, used, instead of a piston or bucket, as a forcer in pumps.
3. One who bets heavily and recklessly on a race; a reckless speculator. [Cant]
4. (Pottery) A boiler in which clay is beaten by a wheel to a creamy consistence. --Knight.
5. (Gun.) The firing pin of a breechloader.
{Plunger bucket}, a piston, without a valve, in a pump.
{Plunger pole}, the pump rod of a pumping engine.
{Plunger pump}, a pump, as for water, having a plunger, instead of a piston, to act upon the water. It may be single-acting or double-acting
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: someone who risks losses for the possibility of considerable gains [syn: {speculator}]
2: someone who dives (into water) [syn: {diver}]
3: hand tool consisting of a stick with a rubber suction cup at one end; used to clean clogged drains [syn: {plumber's helper}]
4: mechanical device that has a plunging or thrusting motion [syn: {piston}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
47 Moby Thesaurus words for "plunger": adventurer, betting ring, bettor, big operator, boneshaker, cardshark, cardsharp, cardsharper, compulsive gambler, crap shooter, deep-sea diver, diver, free diver, frogman, gambler, gamester, gunslinger, hazarder, jumper, lame duck, margin purchaser, operator, parachute jumper, pearl diver, petty gambler, piker, player, punter, scalper, scuba diver, sharp, sharper, sharpie, skin diver, sky diver, smart operator, snorkel diver, speculator, sport, sporting man, sportsman, stag, tinhorn, tipster, tout, venturer, wagerer
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0