To pull the plug

Business English | C1

Listening exercises with “To pull the plug”

to pull the plug (on something) = to make the decision to stop something from continuing or working.

This may involve withdrawing support or finances for something (as with micro-dictations one and two). ‘Pulling the plug’ could also involve withdrawing from a process that cannot continue without you (such as a negotiation, as in micro-dictation three).

This is quite an informal and direct idiom, and sounds quite decisive and final – imagine stopping a computer or machine by pulling the plug directly out of the socket.

Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?

Accent: Ireland