English
plug
Etymology

From Dutch plug, from Middle Dutch plugge, from odt *pluggi, from Proto-West Germanic *plugi.

Pronunciation Noun

plug (plural plugs)

  1. (electricity) 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.
    1. (loosely) An electric socket: wall plug.
  2. Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole.
    Synonyms: bung, dowel, stopper, stopple
    Pull the plug out of the tub so it can drain.
  3. (US) A flat oblong cake of pressed tobacco.
    He preferred a plug of tobacco to loose chaw.
  4. (US, slang) A high, tapering silk hat.
  5. (US, slang) A worthless horse.
    Synonyms: bum, dobbin, hack, jade, nag
    That sorry old plug is ready for the glue factory!
  6. (dated) Any worn-out or useless article.
  7. (dated, slang) A book that fails to sell.
    • 1886, The Publishers Weekly, volume 29, page 25:
      Stack all new and fresh, composed of the fast-selling standard books only — no old plugs or unsalable books whatever.
    • 1997, The Book Collector, volume 46, page 184:
      Many New York booksellers promoted the impression that Quaritch had sent only 'plugs' (i.e. unsaleable books).
  8. (construction) A block of wood let into a wall to afford a hold for nails.
  9. (slang) 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.
    During the interview, the author put in a plug for his latest novel.
    She used her televised tour of the zoo to work in another plug for conservation.
  10. (geology) 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.
  11. (fishing) 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.
  12. (horticulture) A small seedling grown in a tray from expanded polystyrene or polythene filled usually with a peat or compost substrate.
  13. (jewellery) A short cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings, especially in the ear.
    Synonyms: earspool
    Hyponym: earflare (Ancient Maya)
  14. (slang) A drug dealer.
    • 2017, Gucci Mane, Neil Martinez-Belkin, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, page 32:
      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 […]
  15. A branch from a water-pipe to supply a hose.
  16. (aviation) A standard, modular fuselage component that can be added or removed.
    • 2010, Ajoy Kumar Kundu, Aircraft Design, page 165:
      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.
Translations Translations Translations Verb

plug (plugs, present participle plugging; simple past and past participle plugged)

  1. (transitive) To stop with a plug; to make tight by stopping a hole.
    He attempted to plug the leaks with some caulk.
  2. (transitive) To promote (something, especially a product or service); to mention (something) as if promoting or advertising it.
    The main guest on the show just kept plugging his latest movie: it got so tiresome.
    Kennedy went on nationwide speaking tour to plug environmental conservation.
  3. (intransitive, informal) To persist or continue with something.
    Keep plugging at the problem until you find a solution.
  4. (transitive, slang) To shoot (someone) with a bullet.
    • 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...
  5. (transitive, slang) To have sex with; to penetrate sexually.
    I’d love to plug him.
  6. (transitive, slang) To ingest a drug rectally.
    Synonyms: boof
Synonyms Translations Translations
  • French: faire la pub, faire la promo
  • German: Schleichwerbung machen
  • Spanish: promocionar


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