What does "plug" mean?
A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.
Plug
/plʌɡ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.
- Grammar: plug is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: stopper, block, stopple, acknowledgment.
- Useful contrasts: perforated, breather, broaches.
- Usage evidence: Did you know that if you plug a pickle into an electrical outlet, it glows and makes buzzing noises?
How to use "plug"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "plug" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "plug" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "plug" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "plug" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "plug" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "stopper" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "plug", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.
"I pushed the plug back into the electrical socket and the lamp began to glow again."
- 2 an old or over-worked horse wordnet
- 3 A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.; An electric socket: wall plug. broadly
- 4 an upright hydrant for drawing water to use in fighting a fire wordnet
- 5 Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole.
"Pull the plug out of the tub so it can drain."
Show 22 more definitions
- 6 blockage consisting of an object designed to fill a hole tightly wordnet
- 7 A flat oblong cake of pressed tobacco. US
"He preferred a plug of tobacco to loose chaw."
- 8 an electrical device with two or three pins that is inserted in a socket to make an electrical connection wordnet
- 9 A high, tapering silk hat. US, slang
- 10 electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine and ignites the gas by means of an electric spark wordnet
- 11 A worthless horse. US, slang
"That sorry old plug is ready for the glue factory!"
- 12 blatant or sensational promotion wordnet
- 13 Any worn-out or useless article. dated
- 14 a wad of something chewable as tobacco wordnet
- 15 A book that fails to sell. dated, slang
"Stack all new and fresh, composed of the fast-selling standard books only — no old plugs or unsalable books whatever."
- 16 A block of wood let into a wall to afford a hold for nails.
- 17 A promotion (act of promoting) of a product (such as a book, film or play) or other thing, concept, etc, for example during an interview or a commercial. slang
"During the interview, the author put in a plug for his latest novel."
- 18 A body of once molten rock that hardened in a volcanic vent. Usually round or oval in shape.
"Pressure built beneath the plug in the caldera, eventually resulting in a catastrophic explosion of pyroclastic shrapnel and ash."
- 19 A type of lure consisting of a rigid, buoyant or semi-buoyant body and one or more hooks.
"The fisherman cast the plug into a likely pool, hoping to catch a whopper."
- 20 A small seedling grown in a tray from expanded polystyrene or polythene filled usually with a peat or compost substrate.
- 21 A growth of protoplasm that closes the pore openings in the cells of certain algae.
- 22 A short cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings, especially in the ear.
- 23 A drug dealer. slang
"He saw me catch a trap and leave the house of a drug dealer. That's why he targeted me. He could have easily blown my ass off right then and there for lying, but for some reason he didn't. He just left. I biked back to my plug's spot and told him […]"
- 24 A branch from a water-pipe to supply a hose.
- 25 A standard, modular fuselage component that can be added or removed.
"Add front and aft closures to the fuselage midsection. Addition or subtraction of fuselage plugs, to a maximum of five rows, conveniently distributed on each side of wing, is possible."
- 26 Ellipsis of spark plug. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"I changed the plugs and the coil packs."
- 27 Ellipsis of fireplug (“fire hydrant”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Verb
- 1 To stop with a plug; to make tight by stopping a hole. transitive
"He attempted to plug the leaks with some caulk."
- 2 insert as a plug wordnet
- 3 To promote (something, especially a product or service); to mention (something) as if promoting or advertising it. transitive
"The main guest on the show just kept plugging his latest movie: it got so tiresome."
- 4 insert a plug into wordnet
- 5 To persist or continue with something. informal, intransitive
"Near-synonym: plug away"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 replace the center of a coin with a baser metal wordnet
- 7 To shoot (someone) with a bullet. slang, transitive
"1884, H. Rider Haggard, The Witch's Head I am awfully glad that you kept your nerve and plugged him; it would have been better if you could have nailed him through the right shoulder, which would not have killed him..."
- 8 persist in working hard wordnet
- 9 To have sex with; to penetrate sexually. slang, transitive
"Near-synonyms: peg, rail"
- 10 make a plug for; praise the qualities or in order to sell or promote wordnet
- 11 To ingest a drug rectally. slang, transitive
- 12 deliver a quick blow to wordnet
- 13 fill or close tightly with or as if with a plug wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"Did you know that if you plug a pickle into an electrical outlet, it glows and makes buzzing noises?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "plug"?
Common synonyms include: stopper, block, stopple, acknowledgment, add-on, advert.
How do you use "plug" in a sentence?
Did you know that if you plug a pickle into an electrical outlet, it glows and makes buzzing noises?
How do you pronounce "plug"?
Pronounced /plʌɡ/.
Etymology
From Dutch plug, from Middle Dutch plugge (“peg, plug”), from Old Dutch *pluggi, from Proto-West Germanic *plugi. Further origin unknown. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *plugjaz, but the word seems originally restricted to northern continental West Germanic. Perhaps ultimately from the same source as Dutch plag (“cut-out sod”), itself considered to be from a substrate. Compare German Low German Plüg, Norwegian plug (“peg, wedge”, probably borrowed from Middle Low German), German Pflock (“peg”, restricted to Central German and phonetically divergent). Possibly akin to Lithuanian plúkti (“to strike, hew”).