Added 3 October 2026
plug
/plʌɡ/ noun
In Latin: obtūrō Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about plug at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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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.
- An electric socket: wall plug.
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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.
verb
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To stop with a plug; to make tight by stopping a hole.
He attempted to plug the leaks with some caulk.
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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.
-
To persist or continue with something.
Keep plugging at the problem until you find a solution.
Origin
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”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)