plug up

plug up

1. To become obstructed or filled up such that nothing can get through. Honey, where's the plunger? The toilet plugged up again. If the gutter plugs up, you're going to have a bunch of dirty water start spilling down onto your driveway.

2. To cause something to become obstructed or filled such that nothing can get through. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "plug" and "up." Ugh, there's a huge wad of gunk and hair that's been plugging the sink up. We had to use scraps of our clothes to plug up the leaks in the boat. He'll go around and plug the holes up with spackle, then I'll come through and paint over the walls once everything's dry.

See also: plug, up

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

plug something up

to stop or fill up a hole, crack, or gap. Take out the nail and plug the hole up with something. You have to plug up the cracks to keep out the cold.

See also: plug, up

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

plug up

v.

1. To obstruct the path or passageway through, into, or out of something: An orange rind plugged up the sink. Leaves have plugged the storm drain up.

2. To be obstructed so that substances cannot pass through: The hose plugged up and eventually burst.

3. To cause the path through, into, or out of something to become obstructed: They plugged up the leaks in the boat with tar. We plugged the hole up with a cork.

See also: plug, up

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.