pull the plug

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

terminate a project, technology, programme, or enterprise by withdrawing the funding, support, or power that sustains it; the image is of disconnecting an electrical device by removing its power supply, ending its operation instantly and completely; in business and technology contexts, pulling the plug on a project signals a definitive decision to stop rather than a temporary pause, and often follows a determination that continued investment cannot be justified by achievable outcomes