{
  "id": "plug.electrical",
  "term": "plug",
  "sense": "electrical",
  "pos": "noun",
  "status": "published",
  "level": 8,
  "arena": "E7",
  "domain": "technology",
  "style": null,
  "definition": "A device made to be in a hole of another device, so that through touch energy can flow between the two.",
  "folk_gloss": null,
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "device.tool",
      "holes.empty-regions",
      "touch.together",
      "flow.movement",
      "energy.capacity",
      "make.verb"
    ],
    "interaction": "A shaped device meets a matching hole; their boundaries touch, opening a path through which energy flows.",
    "novel_properties": [
      "continuous energy conduction",
      "interlock without adhesion",
      "structured alignment enabling flow"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "text": "The USB-C plug connects a MacBook charger to a power brick, enabling energy transfer at 100 watts.",
      "domain": "everyday life"
    },
    {
      "text": "Apollo 13's crew used a makeshift adapter to plug a square carbon dioxide filter into a round hole.",
      "domain": "engineering"
    },
    {
      "text": "The IEC 60906-1 standard defines the plug dimensions used in Brazil's electrical outlets.",
      "domain": "institutions"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "id": "device.tool",
      "type": "is-a",
      "note": "a plug is a device specialized for connection"
    }
  ],
  "used_by": [
    "socket.electrical"
  ],
  "forms": [
    "plug",
    "plugged",
    "plugs"
  ],
  "closed": true,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "hand",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 1.0,
    "reconciled": {
      "by": "openrouter:qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507",
      "date": "2026-07-31",
      "changed": "components",
      "note": "Added 'make.verb' to account for the intentional construction implied in the definition; all other components are directly involved in the emergence of the electrical plug as a functional interface."
    }
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-plug.electrical"
}