plug

See also: pług

English

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.

   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: (racing) bum, dobbin, hack, jade, nag

   That sorry old plug is ready for the glue factory!

6. (dated) Any worn-out or useless article.
7. (construction) A block of wood let into a wall to afford a hold for nails.
8. (slang) 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.

9. (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.

10. (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.

11. (horticulture) A small seedling grown in a tray from expanded polystyrene or polythene filled usually with a peat or compost substrate.
12. (jewelry) A short cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings, especially in the ear.
13. (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 […]

14. A branch from a water-pipe to supply a hose.

Derived terms

• breech plug
• bridge plug
• butt-plug
• fire plug
• glow plug
• hawse plug
• plug and feather
• plugboard
• plug centerbit
• plughole
• plug rod
• plug valve
• spark plug
• wall plug

 

Descendants

• → Burmese: ပလတ် (pa.lat)

Translations

electric connecting device

• Albanian: fishë f
• Arabic: قَابِس m (qābis), فِيشَة f (fīša)

  Moroccan Arabic: فيش (fiš)

• Armenian: խրոցակ (xrocʻak), շտեպսել (hy) (štepsel) (colloquial)
• Azerbaijani: ştepsel
• Basque: entxufe
• Belarusian: штэ́псель m (štépsjelʹ), штэ́кер m (štékjer), ві́лка f (vílka)
• Bulgarian: ще́псел m (štépsel), ще́кер m (štéker)
• Burmese: ပလတ် (my) (pa.lat)
• Catalan: clavilla (ca) f, endoll (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 插頭／插头, 插头 (caap³ tau^4-2), 插蘇頭／插苏头 (caap³ sou¹ tau^4-2), 插苏头 (caap³ sou¹ tau^4-2), 插蘇／插苏 (caap³ sou¹), 插苏 (caap³ sou¹)

  Mandarin: 插頭／插头 (zh) (chātóu), 插头 (zh) (chātóu)

• Czech: zástrčka (cs) f
• Danish: stikprop
• Dutch: stekker (nl) m
• Esperanto: kontaktilo (eo)
• Estonian: pistik, stepsel
• Finnish: pistoke (fi), pistotulppa (fi), töpseli (fi) (colloquial)
• French: fiche (fr) f
• Georgian: შტეფსელი (šṭepseli)
• German: Stecker (de) m
• Hebrew: תֶּקַע (he) m (téka')
• Hungarian: csatlakozó (hu), dugó (hu)
• Irish: plocóid f
• Italian: presa (it) f, spina (it) f
• Japanese: プラグ (puragu)
• Kazakh: штепсель (ştepsel), аша (kk) (aşa), сүңгіме (süñgıme)
• Khmer: ព្រីកួរ៉ង់ (prii kuərɑŋ), ប្រដាប់ស៊ក (prɑdap sɔɔk)
• Korean: 플러그 (peulleogeu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kyrgyz: штепсель (ky) (ştepsel), штекер (şteker)
• Lao: ຫົວສຽບໄຟຟ້າ (hūasīapfai fā)
• Latvian: aizbāznis m
• Lithuanian: kištukas m, štepselis m
• Macedonian: штекер m (šteker), утикач m (utikač)
• Malay: palam
• Mongolian: цахилгааны залгуур (caxilgaany zalguur)
• Norwegian: plugg (no) m (signal), støpsel (no) n (power)
• Persian: فیش (fa) (fiš), دوشاخه (fa) (do-šâxe)
• Polish: wtyczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: ficha (pt) f, tomada (pt) f
• Romanian: fișă (de contact) (ro) f, ștecăr (ro) n, pin (de contact) (ro) m
• Russian: ште́псельная ви́лка f (štɛ́pselʹnaja vílka), ште́псель (ru) m (štɛ́pselʹ), ви́лка (ru) f (vílka), ште́кер (ru) m (štɛ́ker)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: утѝка̄ч m, ште̏кер m

  Roman: utìkāč (sh) m, štȅker (sh) m

• Slovak: zástrčka f
• Slovene: vtikač (sl) m
• Spanish: enchufe (es) m
• Swahili: plagi (sw)
• Swedish: elkontakt, kontakt (sv), stickkontakt, stickpropp
• Tajik: штепсел (štepsel), вилка (tg) (vilka)
• Thai: ปลั๊ก (th) (bplák), เต้าเสียบ (dtâo-sìiap)
• Turkish: fiş (tr)
• Turkmen: ştepsel
• Ukrainian: ште́псель m (štépselʹ), ште́кер m (štéker), ви́лка f (výlka)
• Uzbek: shtepsel (uz), shteker, vilka (uz)
• Vietnamese: phích (vi)
• Walloon: fitche (wa) f
• Welsh: plwg (cy) m

hole filler

• Arabic: بُوجِيه m (būjīh), دِسَام m (disām), سِدَاد m (sidād), سِدَادَة f (sidāda), سِطَام m (siṭām), صِمّة f (ṣimma)
• Burmese: အဆို့ (my) (a.hcui.)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 塞子 (zh) (sāizi)

• Dutch: stop (nl) m (solid, shaped plug), prop (nl) f or m (plug of paper, cloth &c.)
• Esperanto: ŝtopilo
• Finnish: tulppa (fi)
• French: bouchon (fr) m
• German: Stöpsel (de) m, Stopfen (de) m, Pfropfen (de) m, Pfropf (de) m, Spund (de) m, Zapfen (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: βύσμα n (búsma), ἴβδης m (íbdēs)

• Hungarian: dugó (hu), tömítés (hu)
• Italian: tappo (it) m
• Maori: kāremu, puru
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plugg (no) m, propp m

  Nynorsk: plugg m, propp m

• Polish: zatyczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: tampão (pt) m
• Russian: про́бка (ru) f (próbka), заты́чка (ru) f (zatýčka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: че̏п m, запу̀ша̄ч m

  Roman: čȅp (sh) m, zapùšāč (sh) m

• Sicilian: stuppagghiu m
• Spanish: tapón m
• Tagalog: sumpal
• Walloon: boutchon (wa) m

hold for nails

• Dutch: plug (nl) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Dübelholz n, Dübel (de) m, Holzdübel m

Verb

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.

   • 2019 January 26, Kitty Empire, “The Streets review – the agony and ecstasy of a great everyman”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     He treats the gig as an opportunity repeatedly to plug the after-party, where he will be DJing.

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.

Related terms

• plug in
• unplug

 

Translations

to stop with a plug

• Aromanian: astup
• Finnish: tukkia (fi), sulkea (fi)
• French: boucher (fr), fermer (fr), bourrer (fr)
• Galician: arrollar (gl), tapar (gl)
• Greek:

  Ancient: φράσσω (phrássō)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: puru
• Romanian: astupa (ro), închide (ro), băga (un dop, o fișă, etc.) (ro)
• Russian: затыка́ть (ru) impf (zatykátʹ), заткну́ть (ru) pf (zatknútʹ); заку́поривать (ru) impf (zakúporivatʹ), заку́порить (ru) pf (zakúporitʹ)

to blatantly mention

• Finnish: puffata
• French: faire la pub, faire la promo
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Schleichwerbung machen
• Irish: bolscaireacht a dhéanamh

to persist or continue with something

• Finnish: työstää (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

to shoot a bullet into something

• Finnish: tärskäyttää
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

slang: to have sex with

• Finnish: tuikata (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• gulp

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Albanian

Alternative forms

• pllug

Etymology

From a South Slavic language language, from Proto-Slavic *plugъ (“plough”), further derived from Proto-Germanic *plōgaz (“plough”), *plōguz (“plough”). Compare Serbo-Croatian плуг, Bulgarian плуг (plug), and English plough. Replaced parmendë in most dialects, which came to mean “wooden plough”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pluɡ/

Noun

plug m (plural plugje, definite plugu, definite plural plugjet)

1. steel plough
2. an instance of tilling

Synonyms

• parmendë

Derived terms

• plugoj, plugim

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Aromanian

Alternative forms

• plugu

Etymology

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

Noun

plug n (plural pluguri)

1. plough

   Synonyms: aratru, aletrã, dãmãljiugu, paramendã

Derived terms

• plugar
• plugãrii

 

---

Dutch

Etymology

From early modern 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

• IPA^(key): /plʏx/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: plug
• Rhymes: -ʏx

Noun

plug m (plural pluggen, diminutive plugje n)

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

Derived terms

• oorplug

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French

Etymology

From English plug.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plœɡ/

Noun

plug m (plural plugs)

1. butt-plug

---

Istro-Romanian

Etymology

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

Noun

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

1. plough

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Romanian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pluɡ]

Noun

plug n (plural pluguri)

1. plough

Declension

Declension of plug

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) plug	plugul	(niște) pluguri	plugurile
genitive/dative	(unui) plug	plugului	(unor) pluguri	plugurilor
vocative	plugule		plugurilor

---

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plûɡ/

Noun

plȕg m (Cyrillic spelling плу̏г)

1. plough

Declension

Declension of plug

	singular	plural
nominative	plȕg	plùgovi
genitive	pluga	plugova
dative	plugu	plugovima
accusative	plug	plugove
vocative	plugu / pluže	plugove
locative	plugu	plugovima
instrumental	plugom	plugovima

---

Slovene

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plúːk/, /plúk/

Noun

plȗg or plȕg m inan

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

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	plúg
gen. sing.	plúga
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	plúg	plúga	plúgi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	plúga	plúgov	plúgov
dative (dajȃlnik)	plúgu	plúgoma	plúgom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	plúg	plúga	plúge
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	plúgu	plúgih	plúgih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	plúgom	plúgoma	plúgi

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	plùg
gen. sing.	plúga
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	plùg	plúga	plúgi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	plúga	plúgov	plúgov
dative (dajȃlnik)	plúgu	plúgoma	plúgom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	plùg	plúga	plúge
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	plúgu	plúgih	plúgih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	plúgom	plúgoma	plúgi

Further reading

• “plug”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran