ENGLISH
REFERENCE

plugging

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈpɫəɡɪŋ// UK //plˈʌɡɪŋ// plug·ging

v. to work hard and steadily at something that might be boring or difficult. You can also use it to mean filling a hole or promoting something.

v. to work persistently or doggedly at a task; also refers to the act of filling an opening or promoting a product. Present participle of 'plug'.


SIMPLE

She is plugging away at her homework.

CONTEXTUAL

The marketing team has been plugging the new software across every social media platform this week.

COMPLEX

Despite the lack of immediate results, the researchers kept plugging away at the data, eventually uncovering a pattern that had eluded their predecessors for decades.

Synonyms
Usage

Often used with the particle 'away' to describe persistent effort. Transitive when meaning to promote or to fill a hole.

Pitfall

He is plugging at his essayHe is plugging away at his essayWhen meaning to work hard, the phrasal verb 'plug away' is the standard idiomatic form.

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