plug

American  

[pluhg] / plʌg /

noun

• plugs
  plural

1. a piece of wood or other material used to stop up a hole or aperture, to fill a gap, or to act as a wedge.

2. a core or interior segment taken from a larger matrix.

3. Electricity. a device to which may be attached the conductors of a cord and which by insertion in a jack, or screwing into a receptacle, establishes contact.

4. spark plug.

5. a fireplug or hydrant.

6. a cake of pressed tobacco.

7. a piece of tobacco cut off for chewing.

8. Informal. the favorable mention of something, as in a lecture, radio show, etc.; advertisement; recommendation.

   The actress was happy to give her new show a plug.

9. Angling. an artificial lure made of wood, plastic, or metal, and fitted with one or more gang hooks, used chiefly in casting.

10. Geology. neck.

11. Slang. a worn-out or inferior horse.

12. Informal. a shopworn or unsalable article.

13. a small piece of sod used especially for seeding a lawn.

14. a patch of scalp with viable hair follicles that is used as a graft for a bald part of the head.

15. Slang. punch.

16. Metalworking.

    1. a mandrel on which tubes are formed.

    2. a punch on which a cup is drawn.

    3. a protrusion on a forging die for forming a recess in the work.

    4. a false bottom on a die.

17. Also called dook. a small piece of wood inserted into masonry as a hold for a nail.

18. Masonry. plug and feathers

19. Also called plug hat. a man's tall silk hat.

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verb (used with object)

• plugs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plugged,
  past participle,  past
• plugging
  present participle

1. to stop or fill with or as if with a plug (often followed byup ).

   to plug up a leak; plug a gap.

2. to insert or drive a plug into.

3. to secure with or as if with a plug.

4. to insert (something) as a plug.

5. to remove a core or a small plug-shaped piece from.

6. to remove the center of (a coin) and replace it with a baser metal.

   a plugged nickel.

7. Informal. to mention (something) favorably, as in a lecture, radio show, etc..

   He says he will appear if he can plug his new TV series.

8. Slang. to punch with the fist.

9. Slang. to shoot or strike with a bullet.

verb (used without object)

• plugs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plugged,
  past participle,  past
• plugging
  present participle

1. to work with stubborn persistence (often followed by along oraway ).

   You're doing a fine job—just keep plugging. Some writers will plug away at the same novel for several years.

2. Informal. to publicize insistently.

   Whenever he gets the chance, he's plugging for his company.

3. Slang. to shoot or fire shots.

verb phrase

1. plug in

   1. to connect to an electrical power source.

      Plug the TV set in over there.

   2. Informal. to add or include; incorporate.

      They still have to plug in more research data.

2. plug up to become plugged.

   The drain in the sink plugs up every so often.

3. plug into

   1. to connect or become connected by or as if by means of a plug.

      The device will plug into any convenient wall outlet. The proposed new departments would eventually plug into the overall organizational plan.

   2. Informal. to feel an affinity for; like; understand.

      Some kids just don't plug into sports in school.

idioms

1. pull the plug on,

   1. to discontinue or terminate.

      The government has threatened to pull the plug on further subsidies.

   2. to disconnect life-sustaining equipment from (a moribund patient).

plug British  

/ plʌɡ /

noun

1. a piece of wood, cork, or other material, often cylindrical in shape, used to stop up holes and gaps or as a wedge for taking a screw or nail

2. such a stopper used esp to close the waste pipe of a bath, basin, or sink while it is in use and removed to let the water drain away

3. a device having one or more pins to which an electric cable is attached: used to make an electrical connection when inserted into a socket

4. Also called: volcanic plug. a mass of solidified magma filling the neck of an extinct volcano

5. See sparking plug

6. 1. a cake of pressed or twisted tobacco, esp for chewing

   2. a small piece of such a cake

7. angling a weighted artificial lure with one or more sets of hooks attached, used in spinning

8. a seedling with its roots encased in potting compost, grown in a tray with compartments for each individual plant

9. informal a recommendation or other favourable mention of a product, show, etc, as on television, on radio, or in newspapers

10. slang a shot, blow, or punch (esp in the phrase take a plug at )

11. informal the mechanism that releases water to flush a lavatory (esp in the phrase pull the plug )

12. an old horse

13. informal to put a stop to

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verb

1. (tr) to stop up or secure (a hole, gap, etc) with or as if with a plug

2. (tr) to insert or use (something) as a plug

   to plug a finger into one's ear

3. informal (tr) to make favourable and often-repeated mentions of (a song, product, show, etc), esp on television, on radio, or in newspapers

4. slang (tr) to shoot with a gun

   he plugged six rabbits

5. slang (tr) to punch or strike

6. informal (intr; foll by along, away, etc) to work steadily or persistently

plug More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing plug

• peg (plug) away at
• pull the plug on

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Usage

What else does plug mean? Content warning: this article references illegal and illicit drugs. A plug (or the plug) is a person who has the ability to get or supply hard-to-find items, especially drugs.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• plugger
  noun
• pluggable
  adjective
• plugless
  adjective
• pluglike
  adjective
• pluggingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plugs
  plural

Participles

• plugging
  present
• plugged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• plug
  simple
• plugs
  simple
• have plugged
  perfect
• has plugged
  perfect
• am plugging
  progressive
• are plugging
  progressive
• is plugging
  progressive
• have been plugging
  perfect progressive
• has been plugging
  perfect progressive

Past

• plugged
  simple
• had plugged
  perfect
• was plugging
  progressive
• were plugging
  progressive
• had been plugging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will plug
  simple
• will have plugged
  perfect
• will be plugging
  progressive
• will have been plugging
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of plug

1620–30; < Dutch; cognate with German Pflock

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Explanation

A plug is something that blocks a hole, particularly one that water normally flows through. For some reason, it also means to promote something. If you plug your new book, you sneak it into every conversation. You can buy a plug at a hardware store — it might be made of rubber, so it fits snugly in your kitchen sink drain. There are also accidental plugs that block the flow of water through a pipe, and plugs that fit securely in wall sockets. These plugs form a connection between an electrical source and an appliance, rather than stemming the flow. And to plug means to stop up or block, or alternately, to try hard to promote something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plug plugs plugged plugging

For a time, Quaid and Savoie were traveling back and forth between Los Angeles and Nashville, but following the 2025 California wildfires, they decided to pull the plug on life on the West Coast.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The new supplies from Russia, if they were all released simultaneously, would plug the gap for about three weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

An Asian betting syndicate had pulled the plug, using a remote control circuit breaker, to get each match abandoned at a scoreline which would maximise their profits.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart has enlisted Lady Gaga for a recruitment campaign, convincing the pop icon to trade vocal registers for cash registers in an effort to plug staffing shortages at thousands of outlets.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Some kids like to plug the toilets with big wads of toilet paper, but I don’t suggest you try doing that.

From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea

According to Paren, the Elon Musk-helmed company has added more than 3,500 fast-charging plugs this year, good for about 40,000 total across the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

"We can't have baths... all the plugs have been removed to resist temptation," said Scantlebury.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Among the more extreme measures is the removal of plugs so tourists are not tempted to take a bath.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Lindy, a startup with around two dozen employees, makes an AI “teammate” that plugs into customers’ Slack workspaces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

He comes in with a vintage-looking electric guitar—I don’t know brands, but it looks like something the Beatles would have had—and plugs it into his amp on a chair before we file in.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

The analysts plugged those prompts into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Muse in three different states: New Jersey, New York and Minnesota.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

True to his provocative reputation, he recently trolled an OpenAI executive on social media after she accidentally plugged Meta’s new app in a television appearance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

The feared Uefa FFP shortfall was thus "plugged".

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Standing in front of rows of what look like giant filing cabinets that contain Alps, he told AFP he was excited to have all of NASA's climate data plugged directly into the machine.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

The Warden had never quite figured out the vehicle’s wiring, and whoever plugged the bus into a power source at a new campground often got a nasty electrical shock.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

They’ve been plugging away on this policy for years, and they’re finally seeing results.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

His was keep plugging away and it will happen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

"Our colleagues are plugging gaps, doing the impossible, working too many hours to back-fill, are experiencing burnout and ill health and have their private lives upended," Mr Kelly said.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Rather than plugging into the Texas power grid, Project Kilby will have its own on-site power plant fueled by Chevron’s local natural-gas production.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

It was Dr. Cramp piping in here, plugging his wife.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

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Related Words

• clog
• fill
• pack
• seal

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