plug away
phrasal verb
plugged away; plugging away; plugs away
informal
: to continue doing something even though it is difficult or boring
—often + at
She kept plugging away at her homework.
Examples of plug away in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Seven years after arriving under Marcelo Bielsa, Bamford is still plugging away.
—
Beren Cross, New York Times, 1 May 2025
The pace of Moscow's advances in Ukraine has slowed considerably, according to a Russian investigative outlet, as Kyiv plugs away with its cross-border operations in the Belgorod region and pulls back from the neighboring west Russian Kursk region.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 23 Mar. 2025
But throughout it all, Arenado has seemingly been plugging away at getting back to being himself.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
The story follows supervillain Plankton, still plugging away trying to take over the world, but this time his plans are thwarted by his supercomputer wife Karen.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2025
Neither Campbell nor Potgieter had their best on Sunday, but both plugged away.
—Gabby Herzig, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
More likely, the Clippers keep plugging away at this.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
Construction crews continue plugging away at a lengthy to-do list of infrastructure projects.
—Axios, 13 Jan. 2025
The buzz around fashion resale and rental has ebbed and flowed over the years, but the businesses themselves have been plugging away in the background, refining their approaches.
—Evan Clark, WWD, 8 Jan. 2025
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Beren Cross, New York Times, 1 May 2025
The pace of Moscow's advances in Ukraine has slowed considerably, according to a Russian investigative outlet, as Kyiv plugs away with its cross-border operations in the Belgorod region and pulls back from the neighboring west Russian Kursk region.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 23 Mar. 2025
But throughout it all, Arenado has seemingly been plugging away at getting back to being himself.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
The story follows supervillain Plankton, still plugging away trying to take over the world, but this time his plans are thwarted by his supercomputer wife Karen.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2025
Neither Campbell nor Potgieter had their best on Sunday, but both plugged away.
—Gabby Herzig, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
More likely, the Clippers keep plugging away at this.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
Construction crews continue plugging away at a lengthy to-do list of infrastructure projects.
—Axios, 13 Jan. 2025
The buzz around fashion resale and rental has ebbed and flowed over the years, but the businesses themselves have been plugging away in the background, refining their approaches.
—Evan Clark, WWD, 8 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plug away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plug%20away. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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