plug

[pluhg]

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noun

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.

a core or interior segment taken from a larger matrix.

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.

spark plug(def 1).

a fireplug or hydrant.

a cake of pressed tobacco.

a piece of tobacco cut off for chewing.

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.

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

Geology. neck(def 14).

Slang. a worn-out or inferior horse.

Informal. a shopworn or unsalable article.

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

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

Slang. punch¹(def 1).

Metalworking.

a mandrel on which tubes are formed.
a punch on which a cup is drawn.
a protrusion on a forging die for forming a recess in the work.
a false bottom on a die.

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

Masonry. See under plug and feathers.

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

verb (used with object), plugged, plug·ging.

to stop or fill with or as if with a plug (often followed by up): to plug up a leak; plug a gap.

to insert or drive a plug into.

to secure with or as if with a plug.

to insert (something) as a plug.

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

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

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.

Slang. to punch with the fist.

Slang. to shoot or strike with a bullet.

verb (used without object), plugged, plug·ging.

to work with stubborn persistence (often followed by along or away): You're doing a fine job—just keep plugging. Some writers will plug away at the same novel for several years.

Informal. to publicize insistently: Whenever he gets the chance, he's plugging for his company.

Slang. to shoot or fire shots.

Verb Phrases

plug in,

to connect to an electrical power source: Plug the TV set in over there.
Informal.to add or include; incorporate: They still have to plug in more research data.

plug into,

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.
Informal.to feel an affinity for; like; understand: Some kids just don't plug into sports in school.

plug up, to become plugged: The drain in the sink plugs up every so often.

Idioms

pull the plug on, Informal.

to discontinue or terminate: The government has threatened to pull the plug on further subsidies.
to disconnect life-sustaining equipment from (a moribund patient).

Origin of plug

1620–30; < Dutch; cognate with German Pflock

Related formsplug·ga·ble, adjectiveplug·ging·ly, adverbplug·less, adjectiveplug·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for plugging

clog, fill, pack, seal, obstruct, stopper, secure, congest, cover, ram, stop, choke, cork, stuff, block, occlude, close, bung, stopple, mention

Examples from the Web for plugging

Contemporary Examples of plugging

Hundreds of millions of people were accustomed to toting these objects around, plugging them in to recharge them, and using them.
Is Wearable Technology a Fad or the Future?
Daniel Gross
January 9, 2014
When the revolution comes, Suze Orman will likely be plugging away on CNBC, giving the same old financial advice.
Can Suze Orman Save America?
Adam Auriemma
November 10, 2013
We think the secret to economic growth is [to] lower tax rates for families and successful small business by plugging loopholes.
Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Paul Ryan, and More Sunday Talk
The Daily Beast Video
September 9, 2012
But down below, millions of Londoners from the queen on down are gritting their teeth and plugging their ears.
London Mayor’s Race Shapes Up as a Grudge Match Between Ken Livingstone And Boris Johnson
Peter Popham
May 2, 2012
Tony Hayward and his BP henchmen are incompetent—not just at plugging holes, but also at cutting deals, says Donald Trump.
Trump Trashes BP
Lloyd Grove
June 18, 2010

Historical Examples of plugging

The operator did some plugging and after a bit came back with a report.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery
And no more than into the open Atlantic than we were plugging into it.
Sonnie-Boy's People
James B. Connolly
Say, I won't always be plugging down at Nagel's, believe me.
Gigolo
Edna Ferber
"Let's try it," the repairman said, plugging the cord into a wall socket.
Something Will Turn Up
David Mason
Let us not count our chickens just yet, but keep on plugging.
The Young Alaskans on the Missouri
Emerson Hough

British Dictionary definitions for plugging

plug

noun

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

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

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

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

See sparking plug

a cake of pressed or twisted tobacco, esp for chewing
a small piece of such a cake

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

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

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

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

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

mainly US an old horse

pull the plug on informal to put a stop to

verb plugs, plugging or plugged

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

(tr) to insert or use (something) as a plugto plug a finger into one's ear

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

(tr) slang to shoot with a gunhe plugged six rabbits

(tr) slang to punch or strike

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

Derived Formsplugger, noun

Word Origin for plug

C17: from Middle Dutch plugge; related to Middle Low German plugge, German Pflock

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

Word Origin and History for plugging

plug

1620s, originally a seamen's term, probably from Dutch plug, Middle Dutch plugge "bung, stopper," related to Norwegian plugg, Danish pløg, North Frisian plaak, Middle Low German pluck, German Pflock; ultimate origin uncertain. Irish and Gaelic words are from English. Sense of "wad or stick of tobacco" is attested from 1728, based on resemblance. Electrical sense is from 1883, based on being inserted; meaning "sparking device in an internal combustion engine" is from 1886. Meaning "advertisement" first recorded 1902, American English, perhaps from verb sense "work energetically at" (c.1865).

plug

"close tightly (a hole), fill," 1620s, from plug (n.) or from Dutch pluggen. Meaning "work energetically at" is c.1865. Sense of "popularize by repetition" is from 1906. Slang sense "put a bullet into" is recorded from 1870. Related: Plugged; plugging.

plugging in Medicine

plug

[plŭg]

n.

A dense mass of material filling a hole or closing an orifice.

v.

To fill tightly with a plug.

Idioms and Phrases with plugging

plug

In addition to the idiom beginning with plug

plug away at
plugged in, be

also see:

peg (plug) away at
pull the plug on