plug

/plʌɡ/

//plʌɡ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"plug" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“plug” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,726. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,726
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.

Corpus desk

Index EN-plug · plug · English

plug · rank #5,726 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,726
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pile

Nearest frequency peer: pile (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “plug”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “plug” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

plug vs PU
0% similar
plug vs put
50% similar
plug vs pub
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for plug
PropertyValue
Headwordplug
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/plʌɡ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,726
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “plug”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).pluglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “pile” (#5,725), “provision” (#5,727), “pig” (#5,724). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “plug” is #5,726. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around plug (IPA /plʌɡ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,726 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 20 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for plug, with forms such as "lpug", "plgu", and "pllug". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PU", "put", "pub", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Dutch plug, from Middle Dutch plugge (“peg, plug”), from Old Dutch *pluggi, from Proto-West Germanic *plugi. Further origin unknown. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *plugjaz, but the word seems originally restricted to northern continental West Germanic. … The correct English form is plug, spelled P-L-U-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.
  2. 2
    A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.
  3. 3
    Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole.
  4. 4
    A flat oblong cake of pressed tobacco.
  5. 5
    A high, tapering silk hat.
  6. 6
    A worthless horse.
  7. 7
    Any worn-out or useless article.
  8. 8
    A book that fails to sell.
  9. 9
    A block of wood let into a wall to afford a hold for nails.
  10. 10
    A promotion (act of promoting) of a product (such as a book, film or play) or other thing, concept, etc, for example during an interview or a commercial.
  11. 11
    A body of once molten rock that hardened in a volcanic vent. Usually round or oval in shape.
  12. 12
    A type of lure consisting of a rigid, buoyant or semi-buoyant body and one or more hooks.
  13. 13
    A small seedling grown in a tray from expanded polystyrene or polythene filled usually with a peat or compost substrate.
  14. 14
    A growth of protoplasm that closes the pore openings in the cells of certain algae.
  15. 15
    A short cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings, especially in the ear.
  16. 16
    A drug dealer.
  17. 17
    A branch from a water-pipe to supply a hose.
  18. 18
    A standard, modular fuselage component that can be added or removed.
  19. 19
    Ellipsis of spark plug.
  20. 20
    Ellipsis of fireplug (“fire hydrant”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how plug appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I pushed the plug back into the electrical socket and the lamp began to glow again.
  2. Pull the plug out of the tub so it can drain.

Etymology

From Dutch plug, from Middle Dutch plugge (“peg, plug”), from Old Dutch *pluggi, from Proto-West Germanic *plugi. Further origin unknown. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *plugjaz, but the word seems originally restricted to northern continental West Germanic. Perhaps ultimately from the same source as Dutch plag (“cut-out sod”), itself considered to be from a substrate. Compare German Low German Plüg, Norwegian plug (“peg, wedge”, probably borrowed from Middle Low German), German Pflock (“peg”, restricted to Central German and phonetically divergent). Possibly akin to Lithuanian plúkti (“to strike, hew”).

Synonyms

blockpegpinplugstopperstopple

This word in other languages

enchufe(Español)fiche(Français)Stecker(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpug
  • plgu
  • pllug
  • plugg
  • pplug
  • pulg

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plug - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

lpug2plgu2pllug1plugg1pplug1pulg2
Edit distance from "plug"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "plug"?
"plug" is spelled P-L-U-G. The IPA pronunciation is /plʌɡ/.
What does "plug" mean?
As a noun, "plug" means: A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.
What words are commonly confused with "plug"?
"plug" is commonly confused with "PU", "put", "pub". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "plug"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plug" is /plʌɡ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "plug"?
From Dutch plug, from Middle Dutch plugge (“peg, plug”), from Old Dutch *pluggi, from Proto-West Germanic *plugi. Further origin unknown. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *plugjaz, but the word seems originally restricted to northern continental West ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "plug", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pile#5,725peer#5,722lean#5,705Kyle#5,703

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

organ6 variantstattoo6 variantsTours6 variantsalike6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list