plugging

Pluralpluggings (some meanings)

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle of plug.

   He spent the morning plugging gaps in the old stone wall.

   Crews are plugging the well to stop the oil from escaping.

   Note

   The -ing form carries every meaning of plug, not only the literal one. You can be plugging a leak, plugging a new book on a talk show, or, with no object at all, simply keep plugging until a job is done. Slang uses such as shooting someone or sexual penetration run through it too, so context decides. As a noun, the same spelling names the act of sealing or the sealing material.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The act of stopping or sealing an opening with a plug.

   The plugging of the well bore prevented any further seepage.

   Proper plugging of the drainage holes is essential before winter.

   Similarsealing, stopping, blocking

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A particular way in which several plugs are arranged together.

   The studio's plugging let engineers reroute signals without rewiring anything.

   A neat plugging on the patch bay saved hours of troubleshooting.

   Similarpatching, configuration, arrangement, setup, routing

   Note

   Here the noun becomes countable and takes the plural pluggings. You can try a few different pluggings the way you might try different layouts, each one a separate configuration. That is the quickest way to tell it from the plugging material, which is measured rather than counted. Ask whether you could say "two of them": if you could, this is the sense.

4. 4
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Material of the kind used to form plugs or stoppers for sealing an opening.

   The old casks were sealed with waxed plugging that kept the air out.

   Engineers chose a synthetic plugging for its resistance to heat.

   Similarsealant, packing, filler, caulking

5. 5
   noununcountable

   The sexual practice of putting an object, most commonly a sex toy, inside the vagina or anus.

   The careful plugging built a wave of pleasure she hadn't expected.

   After some unhurried plugging, the couple moved on to other toys.

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