plug in

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle in

Meanings

1

Connect a device to electricity using a plug

Why “in”? You reach a place and become present there. The train gets in, you check in, or the news comes in.

Plug in the kettle.
Connect the kettle to electricity.
Plug the lamp in by the bed.
Connect the lamp to electricity by the bed.

Don't confuse with

plug inplug away

Plug in means connect a device to electricity using a plug. Plug away means persist with a difficult task.

Test yourself

Plug in the kettle. What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.

Practice “plug in” in Sink In

Drill this and 600+ phrasal verbs with spaced repetition, organised by particle.