Meaning & use
pull the plug
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiominformalfigurative
To stop something from continuing, usually by deciding to end funding, support, or work on it.
Grammar: Often takes on: the board pulled the plug on the show; the verb changes form: pulls, pulled, pulling.
Patterns
- pull the plug on something
The studio pulled the plug on the series after only six episodes.
Investors threatened to pull the plug if sales did not improve.
We had to pull the plug on the picnic when the storm clouds rolled in.
phraseidiommedical
To switch off life-support equipment or a machine by disconnecting it from its power or supply.
Grammar: Literal and medical use; often about disconnecting equipment, with on or from less common.
Patterns
- pull the plug on something
The family faced the painful decision of whether to pull the plug on the ventilator.
Engineers pulled the plug on the server to stop the data leak.
Word forms
| third person singular | pulls the plug |
|---|---|
| past tense | pulled the plug |
| past participle | pulled the plug |
| -ing form | pulling the plug |
Common combinations
- pull the plug on a project
- The manager pulled the plug on the project last week.
- threaten to pull the plug
- The sponsor threatened to pull the plug on the festival.
- pull the plug early
- They decided to pull the plug early to cut losses.
- pull the plug on funding
- Congress could pull the plug on funding for the program.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cancel
- It is neutral and formal, while pull the plug sounds more abrupt and informal, as if ending something that was failing.
- scrap
- It suggests throwing away a plan completely, whereas pull the plug can mean stopping something that is already running.
- shut down
- It describes closing a business or system and is less figurative than pull the plug.
- axe
- It is informal and very blunt, usually for jobs or programs, and is a little harsher than pull the plug.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: pull the plug or plug in?
pull the plug vs plug in
Plug in means to connect something to power, the opposite action of what pull the plug suggests.
Practice
After months of losses, the owners decided to ___ the restaurant.
Choose one answer.
Pull the plug on means to end something that is failing. Pull the strings of means to control from behind, which does not fit ending losses.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pull the plug”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.