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Glite Dictionary
🔌 To connect power 🤝 To get involved
to plug in

to plug in

54 2.8
To connect an electrical device to a power socket by inserting its cord
  • phrasal verb
  • /plʌɡ ɪn/
translation icon : enchufar
  • You might need to plug it in first.
  • plug in a phone
  • plug in the cord
  • plug in a cable

I would have to plug it in, but I can't right now.

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Examples

  • And it has lots of receptacles where you can plug in your laptop and linger a while.

    Blog text (13)

  • So we'll plug it in and switch it on.

  • So take that and plug it in over here.

  • All right, I am going to plug it in now.

  • OK, and let me plug that in and see what comes.

  • We'll go ahead and plug this in, I guess, out the back.

  • Be sure that you have a power outlet nearby to plug in your computer.

    Academic text (2007)

  • I need you to help me plug in the HDMI cable.

    Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea (2024)

  • We added an outlet so we can plug in the Ergorapido and a phone charging station.

    Blog text (6)

  • To start using the printer, you need to plug in the power cord to the wall socket.

Synonyms

to connect
vsto plug in
445 2.7

Attach something to power or a network so it works

is specific to making a power link by inserting a connector into a socket
to plug
vsto plug in
100 1.1

To put a cord into a socket to connect a device to power

focuses on linking the whole device to power rather than the insertion act
to plug into
vsto plug in
30 3.0

To connect a device to a power socket to get electricity

is the same action but expressed with a different preposition

Antonyms

to unplug
28 2.6

To take a plug out of a wall socket so an electric device stops getting power

How Connected

hardwired
  • Specialized
1 4.7
to plug in
54 2.8
to connect
445 2.7
to unplug
28 2.6

Surface Forms

plug in infinitive
plugged in past
plugged in past participle
plugging in present participle
plugs in third person singular

Morphology

plug + in

The core meaning 'to connect an electrical device to a power source' is directly and transparently derived from 'plug' (to connect by inserting a plug) plus the spatial/into sense of 'in', so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it. The extended sense 'to become involved or connected' is a natural metaphorical extension of 'connect' and is likewise inferable from the constituents and common cross-linguistic patterns.

Etymology

Plug in comes from the simple act of pushing the plug in to a wall socket so a device gets power, and that clear image explains why it means 'to connect to a power supply' or 'make a device work'.