plug

[ pluhg ]

noun

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 ( def 1 ).
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 ( def 14 ).
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. Compare hair transplant.
15. Slang. punch ¹( def 1 ).
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.

verb (used with object)

, plugged, plug·ging.

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

   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)

, plugged, plug·ging.

1. 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.

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. 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. to become plugged:

   The drain in the sink plugs up every so often.

3. 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.

plug

/ 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 calledvolcanic 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. pull the plug on informal.
    to put a stop to

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

Derived Forms

• ˈplugger, noun

Other Words From

• plugga·ble adjective
• plugging·ly adverb
• plugless adjective
• pluglike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plug¹

1620–30; < Dutch; cognate with German Pflock

Word History and Origins

Origin of plug¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. pull the plug on, Informal.
   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).

More idioms and phrases containing plug

In addition to the idiom beginning with plug , also see peg (plug) away at ; pull the plug on .

Example Sentences

On-rushing defenders are more easily evaded and, moving at pace, the holes they leave behind are hard to plug.

From BBC

“We’re not going to have a fence that stretches from Brownsville to Imperial Beach, but you’re definitely going to be plugging the gaps in key areas of Arizona, California and Texas,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

He argued that if planned homes could be bought by their tenants, it would be "like trying to fill a bath without the plug in".

From BBC

And behind the scenes the club has to take huge credit for bringing back running back Kareem Hunt and trading for receiver DeAndre Hopkins to plug the gaps.

From BBC

Labour has faced criticism over the decision, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she took in order to help plug a £22 billion hole in public finances.

From BBC

Related Words

• clog
• fill
• pack
• seal

About This Word

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.

Where does plug come from?

The word plug made its way into the English language, likely from Dutch, as far back as the 1620s. It was a word used by sailors, as plugs can be quite useful on a boat in leaky situations.

In the 1880s, plug gained its electrical sense, referring to an outlet and electrical connection instead of just a stopper. In the 1930s, we see the word connection emerge as slang for an illegal drug supplier, the person connecting the drugs themselves to the sellers and users. This notion of connection appears to influence the slang sense of plug for a drug seller in the early 2000s.

In 2014, 50 Cent’s G Unit released “The Plug,” which boasts about being a drug hookup, or the plug.

Well, if you need that, then get at me

I’m the plug

Dope, coke, crack, man get at me

I’m the plug”

While the slang plug initially and especially refers to linking people together for drug-related transactions, plug spread by the 2010s for a source of any rare or desirable item.

How is plug used in real life?

Outside of everyday uses of plugs such as electrical plugs and plugging holes, plug is youth slang for a supplier of sought-after products, ranging from designer shoes and event tickets …

I want those new Yeezy somebody direct me to the plug 😩

— J/•\Y (@jayyborders) December 11, 2018

Pizza Zoo…..Saturday……get yo tickets fools! I am not the plug!

— Jessi (@Jessi_Dean) July 24, 2018

… to drugs, whether scored from small-time dealers or big-time suppliers.

i have 800mg ibuprofen so if anyone needs a new plug hmu

— horrible little goose (@edamamiiiii) August 9, 2015

Of course, we’d be remiss not to point out that plug is also a popular informal term meaning “to publicize something or someone insistently.”

FROM MODEST SHOOT TO FORWARD PLANT. A shameless plug for my book on women in botanical culture from herb women to botanical poets; many courted controversy by wantonly focussing on the sexual parts of the flower the stamens and pistils #FolkloreThursday image 1 Corpse Lily pic.twitter.com/tllq5naLGG

— Coffin Boffin (@DrSamGeorge1) January 24, 2019

More examples of plug:

“Skepta’s Clothing Brand Mains is Finally Available…Who’s Got the Plug?”
—The Drop Date (headline), June 2017

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.