Plug in or plugin?
plug in is an adjective meaning “Designed to be plugged into an electrical power outlet or circuit”; plugin is a noun meaning “Alternative spelling of plug-in”. plug in is written as two words and plugin as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between plug in and plugin?
| plug in | plugin | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, noun, verb | noun |
| Meaning | Designed to be plugged into an electrical power outlet or circuit Able to be extended with further components in a modular fashion Anything that plugs into something | Alternative spelling of plug-in |
| Example | a plug-in hand drill | none recorded |
| Forms | none | plugins |
| Pronunciation | /ˈplʌɡ.ɪn/ | /ˈplʌɡ.ɪn/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 1.9 times per million words |
Sources: plug in and plugin in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of plug in and plugin
plug in
- 1
Designed to be plugged into an electrical power outlet or circuit
a plug-in hand drill
- 2
Anything that plugs into something
- 3
To connect (an electrical device) to a plug socket
Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and turning it on again? Ok. Well, are you sure that it's plugged in?
- 4
Able to be extended with further components in a modular fashion
- 5
A module or device that interacts with another to add a specific feature or function
- 6
To familiarize and integrate (a person) into an organization
- 7
An electric vehicle that can be recharged from an external power source
- 8
To replace a variable with a number in order to solve an equation
If an equation has three unknowns, you can plug in two of them to find the third
plugin
- 1
Alternative spelling of plug-in
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, plug in or plugin?
plug in is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; plugin 1.9 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).