pull the plug on
Idioms-
Discontinue, end, as in The government pulled the plug on that program . [First half of 1900s]
-
Remove all life-supporting equipment, as in The family debated whether it was time to pull the plug on him . [Second half of 1900s] Although this idiom undoubtedly alludes to cutting off electricity to an electrical device, it originally referred to the removal of a stopper that flushed an old-style toilet.
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.
She must operate a control pad to manipulate the appendages of a brain-dead coma patient and take him on a cross-country trip so his mother can say goodbye and legally pull the plug on him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Should McLaren pull the plug on Oscar Piastri to focus on Norris, and if they did, when?
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
If the face-off persists, that may just force enough viewers to pull the plug on Google.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2025
Don’t pull the plug on your life here quite yet.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2025
Mom was not ready to pull the plug on the Erik Fisher Football Dream that drove our lives.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
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.
