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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.

"May looks really rough," says one plugged-in senior Labour figure in the capital.

From BBC

In Hebrew, Mr. Segal is Israel’s most plugged-in political journalist.

From The Wall Street Journal

Since then, Tenev has come to realize that plugged-in, aggressive traders are actually key to his company’s success.

From The Wall Street Journal

Adam Schefter, the most plugged-in NFL reporter anywhere, did in fact begin an X.com post Monday with the words “Tom Brady is coming out of retirement” — but he didn’t mean that the greatest quarterback of all time was actually doing so.

From Los Angeles Times

Even as he wanders away from his thesis for pages and pages at a time, Freedman provides a lively gloss on Dylan’s rise from unknown folk beacon to counterculture superstar and, to some, plugged-in traitor to the folk cause.

From Los Angeles Times