I’m sure you have noticed, either in travel or when buying electronics, that we don’t all use the same plugs and sockets for our electronics.  This can be more than a little annoying, especially when traveling, but today this little annoyance is going to offer us that chance to talk about some new vocabulary!

First of all lets look at our most basic vocabulary for this topic:

a plug: a piece of solid material that fits tightly into a hole, blocking it up

a socket: a hollow or hole into which a plug is inserted

In English we often refer to plugs and sockets in terms of male ends and female ends.  Just to clarify, the plug is the male end and the socket the female end.

Here is some more helpful vocabulary:

prongs: the metal pieces that stick out of an electric plug
outlet or terminal: synonyms for socket

Be careful! If you stick something metal, other than a plug, into an electrical socket, you might get a shock.

a shock: a feeling of electricity, or more generally a feeling of surprise

Electric plugs around the world have varying numbers of prongs which must fit into the right or correct sockets.  If you don’t have the right outlet for your plug, you are going to need an adaptor.

an adaptor: a small device that is used for connecting two electronics that don’t fit together on their own because of mismatched plugs and sockets

If you are traveling internationally or if you are buying an electronic device made in a different country you are likely going to need an adaptor for your electronics.  Usually, the way an adaptor works is you put the prongs of you’re electronic device into the socket of the adaptor, and then put the prongs of the adaptor into the socket.

Before you travel to a new place it might be helpful to ask someone in that place the following questions related to plugs and sockets:

What type of wall outlets do you use?
What do they look like? How many holes are there in the outlet?  Are the holes round, flat, or square?  Are they straight up and down or at an angle?
Do you use AC or DC electricity?

One last note about wall sockets and plugs.  In addition to the different types of outlets, electrical currents differ in different parts of the world too!  So it is usually helpful to know if electricity is provided by AC (alternating current) or DC (direct current).  Certain electronics can only operate on AC or DC, and if you plug an electronic device that only runs on DC into an AC outlet you could have some problems.

I hope this information was not too shocking and that it will be helpful the next time you travel.