Plug may refer to any of the following:

  1. A plug is a plastic device with one or more metal pins for connecting devices together. For example, a power plug connects a computer power supply to the wall socket (outlet). See our cable page for a full listing of cables and plugs used with computers.

  2. A plug is a mention of an event, place, product, or service by a person or influencer. For example, a person may call into a radio show with thousands of listeners and ask if they can plug their service. If allowed, that plug would let their thousands of listeners know about that service (advertise) and potentially give them hundreds of new customers.

When connecting a plug to a computer or other device you plug in the plug, when removing the plug you unplug.

  • What is the difference between a connector, jack, plug, and port?
  • How to set up a new computer.

  1. In general, when used as a noun, a plug is a description of a physical object that obstructs a hole. For example, a hole (jack) on a laptop could be plugged with gum that prevents a plug from connecting to the laptop. In this example, the “gum” is the plug, and the verb “plugged” is the action of the hole being blocked.

  2. With computers, the word “plug” is also used with the following computer-related words.

  • Plug and Play
  • Plug-compatible
  • Plug-in