Pull the Plug.
English
idiom
To stop a project or activity suddenly.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To stop a project or activity suddenly.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To put a definitive end to something, especially a project, plan, or activity that is not working.
When you pull the plug, you make the decision to stop something completely rather than letting it continue.
It is often used when someone in authority decides to cut their losses and cancel something.
"Call it Quits"
—
Deciding to stop doing something, often mutually or after prolonged effort
"Cut Your Losses"
—
Stopping an investment or effort to prevent losing even more than you already have
"Pull the Plug"
—
Making a definitive decision to end something completely
The pilot has been running for six months with no measurable improvement — what's your recommendation?
Pull the plug — the data is clear and continuing is just burning budget.
I've been trying to make this side project work for two years and I'm exhausted.
Sometimes pulling the plug is the bravest decision — not every idea is meant to scale.
When do you know it's time to pull the plug on a business?
When the cost of continuing outweighs any realistic chance of turning it around.
