plug

[ pluhg ]

/ plʌg /

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 for plug

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

OTHER WORDS FROM plug

plug·ga·ble, adjective plug·ging·ly, adverb plug·less, adjective plug·like, adjective

Words nearby plug

plu., pluck, pluck up, pluck up one's courage, plucky, plug, plug and feathers, plug and play, plug away at, plug casting, plug compatible

Definition for plug (2 of 2)

plug and feathers

noun

an apparatus for splitting stone, consisting of two tapered bars (feathers), inserted into a hole drilled into the stone, between which a narrow wedge (plug) is hammered to spread them.

Origin of plug and feathers

First recorded in 1835–45

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.

Example sentences from the Web for plug

TLC promptly pulled the plug on the hit series and Shannon embarked on a press tour denying the claims.

Butts, Brawls, and Bill Cosby: The Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 2014  |Kevin Fallon |December 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Just plug it into any TV and get watching—no need to schedule an installation.

New Innovations Let You Watch TV Anywhere You Go | |December 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
And then I reach into my pocket and plug in another quarter.

‘Asteroids’ & The Dawn of the Gamer Age |David Owen |November 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
How long did you see Hello Ladies going prior to HBO pulling the plug?

Stephen Merchant Talks ‘Hello Ladies’ movie, the Nicole Kidman Cameo, and Legacy of ‘The Office’ |Marlow Stern |November 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

She recalls a particularly traumatic conversation with a HBO executive soon after the plug was pulled on The Comeback.

How Lisa Kudrow Pulled Off TV’s Ultimate ‘Comeback’ |Kevin Fallon |November 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
"Sandy'll plug Old Miles in jest another minnit," remarked Fresno.

The U.P. Trail |Zane Grey
The plug and firecock have both certain advantages and disadvantages, which are now described.

Fire Prevention and Fire Extinction |James Braidwood
Plug up the throat and vent of shot birds with cotton, and thrust each bird head downward into a cornucopia of paper.

Elementary Zoology, Second Edition |Vernon L. Kellogg
Just plug at 'em as you would at a crow, and then go on your way whistlin'?

Si Klegg, Book 5 (of 6) |John McElroy
Why, had I children, I should plug both ears with cotton, for fear I should hear the door-bell.

How to Cook Husbands |Elizabeth Strong Worthington

British Dictionary definitions for plug

plug

/ (plʌɡ) /

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 plug to 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 gun he plugged six rabbits

(tr) slang to punch or strike

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

Derived forms of plug

plugger, noun

Word Origin for plug

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

Medical definitions for plug

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 plug

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

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

plug

noun

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

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

Verb Phrases

Idioms for plug

Origin of plug

OTHER WORDS FROM plug

Words nearby plug

Definition for plug (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of plug and feathers

ABOUT THIS WORD

What else does plug mean?

Where does plug come from?

How is plug used in real life?

Note

Example sentences from the Web for plug

British Dictionary definitions for plug

noun

verb plugs, plugging or plugged

Derived forms of plug

Word Origin for plug

Medical definitions for plug

n.

v.

Idioms and Phrases with plug

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

plug

noun

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

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

Verb Phrases

Idioms for plug

Origin of plug

OTHER WORDS FROM plug

Words nearby plug

Definition for plug (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of plug and feathers

ABOUT THIS WORD

What else does plug mean?

Where does plug come from?

How is plug used in real life?

Note

Words related to plug

Example sentences from the Web for plug

British Dictionary definitions for plug

noun

verb plugs, plugging or plugged

Derived forms of plug

Word Origin for plug

Medical definitions for plug

n.

v.

Idioms and Phrases with plug