Definition

1. Noun:

   • Plumb bob, plumb line: A weight, typically made of metal, suspended from a string, used to determine vertical alignment or depth. This is the primary and most common meaning.
   • A tool for alignment: Refers to the entire tool (the weight and the line) used in construction or carpentry to establish a true vertical line.

2. Verb:

   • To hurl or throw violently (a hard object): To throw something hard and solid with force against another surface or object. This usage is considered regional or dialectal.
   • To drop something heavy with force: To let a dense object fall so it hits a surface with a significant impact.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Thợ xây dùng dọi để kiểm tra độ thẳng của bức tường. (The mason uses a plumb bob to check the straightness of the wall.)
  • Anh ấy treo dọi lên để căn chỉnh khung cửa. (He hung up the plumb line to align the door frame.)

• Verb:

  • Cậu bé dọi viên đá xuống mặt hồ. (The boy hurled the stone onto the lake's surface.)
  • Anh ta tức giận dọi cuốn sách xuống sàn. (He angrily slammed the book onto the floor.)

Advanced Usage

• "Lấy dọi": To use a plumb line; to check for vertical alignment.

  • Trước khi lắp tủ, bạn nên lấy dọi cho chính xác. (Before installing the cabinet, you should use a plumb line for accuracy.)

• "Dọi xuống": To drop/hurl something down (with force). This phrasal construction emphasizes the downward direction.

  • Nó dọi hòn đá xuống giếng. (He dropped/hurled the rock down the well.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dây dọi (n): Plumb line. This is a common compound specifying the string/line part of the tool.

  • Dây dọi bị đứt. (The plumb line is broken.)

• Quả dọi (n): Plumb bob. This compound specifies the weighted end of the tool.

  • Quả dọi làm bằng chì. (The plumb bob is made of lead.)

Synonyms

• Noun: Quả tim (in the context of a plumb bob, due to its shape), trái dọi.
• Verb: Ném mạnh (to throw strongly), quăng (to fling), ném (to throw).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Dọi cho thẳng: To align/plumb something to make it straight.
  • Hãy dọi cho bức tường thật thẳng. (Plumb the wall to make it perfectly straight.)

Related Idioms

• Thẳng như dọi: As straight as a plumb line. This idiom describes something that is perfectly vertical or upright.
  • Cột nhà này được dựng lên thẳng như dọi. (This house column was erected as straight as a plumb line.)

1. Plumb
   • Dây dọi
     A plumb-line.
2. (địa phương) Hurl violenty (a hard thing again anothe)
   • Dọi đồng xu xuống sàn gạch
     Tu hurl violently a coin on the brick floor