do you know a synonym?

[adullstudent]

hi.what do you call something that you plug into a socket(outlet) and you get 3 outlets by means of that?

[rewboss]

Are you thinking of a power strip?

[BobK]

I think "power strip" may be AmE. Over here, we'd call that a 'trailing socket'. But as the original question mentioned three specifically, maybe it's referring just to an adapter (usually a little white box that plugs directly into a socket and has no visible wires).

b

[Mister Micawber]

.
I'd call it a 'three-way adapter'.
.

[rewboss]

Over here, we'd call that a 'trailing socket'.

Well, I grew up in the UK and I have never heard that phrase. A quick check on Google, though, and voilà -- "trailing sockets" it is, although it can also refer to a simple extension cord (that being a "single-gang trailing socket").

"Three-way adapter" would be the sort that plugs into a socket without any cables trailing everywhere, but "adapter" is a very vague term, so you'd have to make sure the context made it clear what was meant. For example, an adapter may be the device you use to be able to plug a device with a French plug into a British socket; or to step down the voltage from 240V to 110V.

[risby]

Well, I grew up in the UK and I have never heard that phrase.

Me too, and me neither.

I call the cableless blocks "mains adapters" and the cabled ones "mains distribution boards". I probably got the latter from electical/electronic equipment catalogues.

[Philly]

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In the US you can buy a "triple outlet adapter" or a "multiple outlet adapter".
.

[BobK]

Me too, and me neither.

...

Phew. Thought I was losing it for a moment, but the phrase is current:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/4-WAY-SWITCH...095042?ie=UTF8

b

[Ouisch]

Phew. Thought I was losing it for a moment, but the phrase is current:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/4-WAY-SWITCH...095042?ie=UTF8
b

It's always current when we're discussing electricity.
/rimshot