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Synonyms

plugged-in

American  
[pluhgd-in] / ˈplʌgdˈɪn /

adjective

Informal.

  1. closely connected; in touch with what is going on; informed; involved.

    He's one of the more plugged-in advisers at State House.
plugged-in British  

adjective

  1. slang up-to-date; abreast of the times

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does plugged-in mean? If you're plugged-in, you're in the know, in touch with what is going on, and very well-informed. You can also be so plugged in to a task, usually a technological one, to the point where you shut everything else out.

Etymology

Origin of plugged-in

1955–60, for literal sense

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Plugged in, neurotically Wi-Fied and 3Ged as we are, we yearn to re-establish contact with the actual, the primal, the old … We languish for the non-mechanical and the pre- or post-industrial.

From The Guardian • Jun. 26, 2012

Plugged in, however, is Kimball’s computer, the pulpit from which he bangs out the gospel of poultry.

From Slate • Jun. 6, 2012

Plugged in and turned on, he can lecture to the entire class.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.