[pluhg-in] 
| 1. | capable of or designed for being connected to an electrical power source by plugging in or inserting: a plug-in hair dryer; a plug-in transistor. |
| add-in (ād'ĭn') n.
|
| plug-in (plŭg'ĭn') adj. Designed to be plugged in to an electric circuit: a plug-in game. n. Computer Science See add-in. |
| plug-in (plŭg'ĭn') Pronunciation Key
An accessory software or hardware package that is used in conjunction with an existing application or device to extend its capabilities or provide additional functions. |
plug-in tool
A file containing data used to alter, enhance, or extend the operation of a parent application program. One of the first uses of this term was in Silicon Beach's SuperPaint application (late 1980s?) for the Macintosh. It had a Plug-ins folder containing different tools and effects.
The Netscape Navigator World-Wide Web browser supports plug-ins which display or interpret a particular file format or protocol such as Shockwave, RealAudio, Adobe Systems, Inc. PDF, Corel CMX (vector graphics). The file to be displayed is included in a web page using an EMBED HTML tag.
Plug-ins, both commercially and indepently authored, can usually be downloaded for free and are stored locally. Plug-ins come in different versions specific to particular operating systems (Microsoft Windows 3.1, 3.2, and Macintosh are available).
Compare applet.
Plug-in Plaza.
PC Mag Plug-ins.
(1996-05-25)