Synonyms of plug

plug 1 of 4

verb (1)

1

as in to fill

to close up so that no empty spaces remain

plugged the hole in the wall with putty

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fill
• pack
• seal
• bung
• block
• stuff
• dam
• stop
• occlude
• close (off)
• choke
• clog
• jam
• obstruct
• caulk
• congest
• clot
• chink
• repack
• restuff

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shovel
• hollow (out)
• excavate
• scoop (out)

2

as in to struggle

to devote serious and sustained effort

plugged away at solving the math problem

Synonyms & Similar Words

• struggle
• labor
• work
• strive
• try
• tug
• plow
• endeavor
• slave
• sweat
• dig (away)
• hustle
• beaver (away)
• toil
• bang away
• strain
• hump
• apply (oneself)
• grub
• fag
• sweat blood
• plod
• travail
• drudge
• drive
• peg (away)
• buckle (down)
• pitch in
• slog
• scratch
• moil
• hammer (away)
• exert
• attack
• essay
• grind (out)
• dig in
• eke out
• exercise
• wade
• knuckle down
• put out
• overwork
• trudge
• overexert
• scrabble

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• break
• ease (up)
• slacken
• lounge
• bum
• let up
• hang (around or out)
• idle
• chill
• rest
• loaf
• play
• relax
• goof (off)
• slack (off)
• hack (around)
• shirk
• unwind
• laze
• bask
• hang
• repose
• veg out
• loll
• dabble
• goldbrick
• footle
• doodle
• fool around
• dally
• trifle
• hang about
• goof (around)
• dillydally
• mess around
• putter (around)
• monkey (around)
• potter (around)
• fribble

3

as in to promote

to provide publicity for

the actress is giving lots of interviews to plug her latest movie

Synonyms & Similar Words

• promote
• sell
• announce
• publicize
• advertise
• push
• talk up
• beat the drum (for)
• boost
• tout
• pitch
• merchandise
• hype
• ballyhoo
• publish
• bark
• review
• praise
• indorse
• endorse
• hail
• recommend
• broadcast
• merchandize
• laud
• plump (for)
• acclaim
• plunk (for)
• plonk (for)

4

as in to shoot

to strike with a missile from a gun

the drug lord plugged the stool pigeon as a lesson for any others who were tempted to talk

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoot
• drill
• pop
• gun
• drop
• kill
• destroy
• slay
• slaughter
• bring down
• blow away
• fire (at)
• blast (at)
• shoot down
• pick off
• pepper
• fell
• butcher
• wipe out
• blaze
• snipe (at)
• blot out
• dispatch
• machine-gun
• shotgun
• potshot
• ice
• pistol
• massacre
• annihilate
• decimate
• croak
• do in
• tommy-gun

plug (up)

2 of 4

verb (2)

as in to stop (up)

to prevent passage through by filling with something

hair plugged up the drain

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stop (up)
• block
• obstruct
• gum (up)
• jam
• fill
• choke
• stuff
• occlude
• congest
• dam
• clog
• flood
• clot
• pack
• cork
• stopple
• overwhelm
• fur
• stopper
• gridlock
• silt
• bung
• spile
• inundate
• swamp
• glut

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• open (up)
• free
• clear
• hollow (out)
• unplug
• scoop (out)
• excavate
• unblock
• unclog
• unstop
• empty
• lighten

plugger

3 of 4

noun (1)

as in laborer

a person who does very hard or dull work

the quiet pluggers are the ones who really keep this company going

Synonyms & Similar Words

• laborer
• worker
• slave
• toiler
• peon
• slogger
• grubber
• foot soldier
• dogsbody
• grunt
• grub
• drudge
• drone
• drudger
• workhorse
• serf

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shirker
• slug
• idler
• loafer
• slouch
• goldbrick
• sluggard
• lazybones

plug

4 of 4

noun (2)

1

as in ad

Related Words

• ad
• promotion
• message
• spot
• advertisement
• sign
• commercial
• publicity
• word
• bill
• advertising
• placard
• marketing
• poster
• billboard
• banner
• propaganda
• ballyhoo
• release
• puffery
• hype
• publication
• report
• pronouncement
• dispatch
• broadcast
• bulletin
• ink
• testimonial
• story
• newscast
• write-up

2

as in cob

Related Words

• cob
• skate
• nag
• equine
• steed
• dobbin
• pony
• jade
• mount
• stallion
• mare
• foal
• colt
• gelding
• charger
• filly
• equid
• bay
• black
• bronco
• quarter horse
• chestnut
• mustang
• hack
• trotter
• saddle horse
• racehorse
• warhorse
• packhorse
• cow pony
• cutting horse
• dun
• roan
• pinto
• sorrel
• workhorse
• palomino
• hackney
• prancer
• buckskin
• skewbald
• courser
• galloper

3

as in hook

Related Words

• hook
• pull
• spinner
• scent
• snare
• stool pigeon
• incentive
• troll
• draw
• appeal
• attraction
• net
• trap
• call
• ambush
• bait
• seduction
• temptation
• enticement
• lure
• decoy
• seducement
• entanglement
• entrapment

Dissimilar Words

• repellent
• repellant

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of plug

Verb

Its amusing cosmetic/munitions mash-up purposefully offset the more austere and traditional feel of Beinecke Plaza. Oldenburg, who died in 2022 at the age of 92, became known for his giant-sized representations of everyday objects such as a hamburger, a trowel and an electrical plug. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2025

Robert Sutton’s framework, originally published in a 2009 HBR article, ... One of the responsibilities of leaders is to deliver bad news: that the company is pulling the plug on a beloved project, forgoing raises or bonuses, implementing return-to-office mandates—or even eliminating jobs. —Por Daniel McGinn, Harvard Business Review, 25 July 2025

Verb

Republican operatives plugged into Trump’s political operation say that the president plans to spend heavily in the midterm elections, both against Democrats ahead of the November elections and in the Republican primaries themselves. —Christian Datoc, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2025

To plug it closed, his surgeon had to cauterize the hole with a red-hot iron. —Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 28 July 2025

Phrases Containing plug

• plug (up)