Idioms for plug
- to discontinue or terminate: The government has threatened to pull the plug on further subsidies.
- to disconnect life-sustaining equipment from (a moribund patient).
pull the plug on, Informal.
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, adjectiveWords nearby plug
British Dictionary definitions for pull the plug on
plug
/ (plʌɡ) /
noun
verb plugs, plugging or plugged
Derived forms of plug
plugger, nounWord Origin for plug
C17: from Middle Dutch
plugge; related to Middle Low German
plugge, German
Pflock
Medical definitions for pull the plug on
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 pull the plug on (1 of 2)
pull the plug on
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.
Idioms and Phrases with pull the plug on (2 of 2)
plug