plug away
phrasal verb
plugged away; plugging away; plugs away
informal
: to continue doing something even though it is difficult or boring
—often + at
She kept plugging away at her homework.
Examples of plug away in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Finger advises being patient, expecting criticism about following rules and formats, and to keep plugging away at it.
—
Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 24 June 2024
McIlroy has plugged away at ending his major drought with remarkable consistency since his last triumph at the 2014 Open Championship, finishing inside the top-10 on 20 of his 36 subsequent appearances at the four flagship events, including his last five in a row at the US Open.
—Jack Bantock, CNN, 17 June 2024
Cougs gaining momentum Lost amidst the musical chairs of realignment, Washington State and head coach Jake Dickert keep plugging away.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 14 June 2024
And though she’s never replicated the success of that diamond-selling single, the pop star has been plugging away, returning this year with her sixth album in a decade.
—Dan Reilly, Vulture, 21 May 2024
In the meantime, the band will keep plugging away at their next album, which will end Incubus’ longest drought between studio albums upon its release.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 22 May 2024
To shift on defense may be right or wrong, but plugging away at a suit without thinking is lazy.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2024
There have been some weird issues here and there, but Intel has kept plugging away at its buggy drivers, slowly improving Arc's performance across a range of games.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2023
Teams of researchers plugging away in laboratories around the world have recently discovered that some key features of timekeeping are tied to cellular metabolism — which means that the organelle called the mitochondrion is both a generator and a clock.
—Quanta Magazine, 19 Dec. 2023
Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 24 June 2024
McIlroy has plugged away at ending his major drought with remarkable consistency since his last triumph at the 2014 Open Championship, finishing inside the top-10 on 20 of his 36 subsequent appearances at the four flagship events, including his last five in a row at the US Open.
—Jack Bantock, CNN, 17 June 2024
Cougs gaining momentum Lost amidst the musical chairs of realignment, Washington State and head coach Jake Dickert keep plugging away.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 14 June 2024
And though she’s never replicated the success of that diamond-selling single, the pop star has been plugging away, returning this year with her sixth album in a decade.
—Dan Reilly, Vulture, 21 May 2024
In the meantime, the band will keep plugging away at their next album, which will end Incubus’ longest drought between studio albums upon its release.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 22 May 2024
To shift on defense may be right or wrong, but plugging away at a suit without thinking is lazy.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2024
There have been some weird issues here and there, but Intel has kept plugging away at its buggy drivers, slowly improving Arc's performance across a range of games.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2023
Teams of researchers plugging away in laboratories around the world have recently discovered that some key features of timekeeping are tied to cellular metabolism — which means that the organelle called the mitochondrion is both a generator and a clock.
—Quanta Magazine, 19 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plug away.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Plug away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plug%20away. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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