plug

Etymology

1606; from Dutch plug, from Middle Dutch plugge (“peg, plug”), from Old Dutch *pluggi. Origin unknown. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *plugjaz, but the word seems originally restricted to northern continental West Germanic: 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”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: plŭg, IPA^(key): /plʌɡ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌɡ

Noun

An electrical plug

Some fishing plugs

plug (plural plugs)

1. (electricity) A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket.

   I pushed the plug back into the electrical socket and the lamp began to glow again.

2. Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole; a 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.

   That sorry old plug is ready for the glue factory!

6. (construction) A block of wood let into a wall to afford a hold for nails.
7. A mention of a product (usually a book, film or play) in an interview, or an interview which features one or more of these.

   During the interview, the author put in a plug for his latest novel.

8. (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.

9. (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.

10. (horticulture) A small seedling grown in a tray from expanded polystyrene or polythene filled usually with a peat or compost substrate.
11. A short cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings, especially in the ear.

Verb

plug (third-person singular simple present 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 blatantly mention a particular product or service as if advertising it.

   The main guest on the show just kept plugging his latest movie: it got so tiresome.

3. (intransitive, informal) To persist or continue with something.

   Keep plugging at the problem until you find a solution.

4. (transitive) To shoot a bullet into something with a gun.
   • 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. (slang, transitive) to have sex with, penetrate sexually.

   I'd love to plug him.

Anagrams

• gulp

Etymology

From a Slavic language, compare Proto-Slavic *plugъ.

Noun

plug ?

1. plough

Alternative forms

• plugu

Etymology

From a Slavic language, compare Proto-Slavic *plugъ. Compare also Romanian plug.

Noun

plug n (plural pluguri)

1. plough

Etymology

From early modern Dutch plugge, from Middle Dutch *plugge, from Old Dutch *pluggi, from Proto-Germanic *plugjaz. Despite being attested only very late, it has certain cognates in several other Germanic languages, including Middle Low German plugge, Middle High German plugge, Swedish plugg.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

plug m (plural pluggen, diminutive plugje n)

1. wall plug (used to hold nails and screws)

Etymology

From English plug.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plœɡ/

Noun

plug m (plural plugs)

1. butt-plug

Etymology

From a Slavic language, compare Proto-Slavic *plugъ.

Noun

plug n (plural plugur, definite singular plugu, definite plural plugurle)

1. plough

Etymology

From a Slavic language, compare Proto-Slavic *plugъ, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *plōgaz (“plough”), *plōguz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pluɡ]

Noun

plug n (plural pluguri)

1. plough

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *plugъ, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *plōgaz (“plough”), *plōguz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plûɡ/

Noun

plȕg m (Cyrillic spelling плу̏г)

1. plough

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *plugъ, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *plōgaz (“plough”), *plōguz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplúːk/, /ˈplúk/
• Tonal orthography: plȗg, plȕg

Noun

plúg or plùg m inan (genitive plúga, nominative plural plúgi)

1. plough (device pulled through the ground in order to break it upon into furrows for planting)