to plug away
6
5.2
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
seguir trabajando
- I'm plugging away at a first draft, as you know.
- keep plugging away
- just keep plugging away
- still plugging away
And then we attracted another guy because we're out there plugging away.
- And then we attracted another guy because we're out there plugging away.
- These people are crazy and you just got to keep plugging away.
- But if you can be consistent and plug away, then all of a sudden it will start to grow.
Examples
-
But if you can be consistent and plug away, then all of a sudden it will start to grow.
-
I guess there is hope for all who keep plugging away.
Blog text (3) -
Well, he suggested I should plug away alone for the rest of this week and next.
-
I'll wake up around five and plug away for an hour to an hour and a half tomorrow morning.
Blog text (17) -
We just have to keep plugging away and working within the system.
Blog text (5) -
The best thing for us to do is keep plugging away.
Blog text (15) -
All I can do is keep plugging away.
Blog text (30) -
But until then, just keep keep plugging away, keep responding on Twitter, keep telling people to keep the faith, as it were.
-
I don't know how you find the energy to keep plugging away day after day.
Blog text (24) -
If we plug away at our studies every day, we will see improvement by the exam period.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To move forward slowly while making steady progress
23
2.6
To work hard at a task for a long time
9
6.9
To work regularly at a trade or skill
8
4.2
Continue and finish a task with strong effort when it is hard or you are tired
5
4.8
To work hard for a long time on something
5
6.7
To work hard for a long time on a task that is difficult or tiring
5
3.7
To keep doing a job or task without stopping for a long time
1
7.7
To work hard for a long time on a difficult task without stopping
1
6.4
To work hard and steadily for a long time
1
6.3
Work hard for a long time on something, often before an exam or deadline
To keep working for a long time on something difficult or boring
To keep working hard on a difficult or long task
To work hard and continue when things are difficult
Work very hard for a short time to finish a task
To work on a task with a lot of energy for a long time
Antonyms
How Persistent
Surface Forms
Morphology
plug + away
The particle 'away' clearly signals continued or steady action, which gives a hint of persistence, but 'plug' in its basic, literal senses (to block or insert) does not transparently mean 'to work'. The combination therefore conveys a partly metaphorical meaning that a B1 learner might partly guess (continuity) but not fully derive without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrasal verb plug away may come from the picture of plug meaning to hit or push again and again, like a boxer or a worker who keeps striking. That steady action became a picture for 'to work steadily and with determination', so plug away now means to keep working at a hard task.