plugged-in
Americanadjective
adjective
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.
They simply plugged in the numbers they could easily find, fudged the rest and threw it on a poster board.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
“We plugged in, started playing,” Mr. Ross once told me.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
The house was unlocked, the ironing board was out, the hoover plugged in, washing was hanging on the line outside, the medication she needed for Crohn's disease had been left behind.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
But let’s address your actual question, which is: If everyone wants to unplug, why are they still plugged in?
From MarketWatch • Oct. 17, 2025
He threw the sad concoction in the oven, went and plugged in the air conditioner, and began playing his guitar, working on a new song that no one would ever hear.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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.
