A wire nut is a twist-on connector: an insulating shell with a coiled square-wire spring that threads onto stripped conductors and pulls them tightly together. Sizes are color-coded for the wire combinations they accept, with orange, yellow and red covering progressively larger bundles and green reserved for grounds. Wire-Nut is a trademark of Ideal Industries, but the term is used for every brand. A good splice has insulation inside the skirt, no bare copper showing and survives a firm tug on each wire.
Twist the wire nut till the insulation starts to wind together, then tug every wire before you fold it in.
Canadian electricians call the same connector a marrette, after a brand name.
Also heard as
- wirenut
- twist-on connector
- marrette
- screw-on connector
Related terms
Wago
Brand name used for push-in and lever-style splice connectors that clamp wires without twisting.
Ideal
Shop name for connectors and tools from the maker whose Wire-Nut trademark became a generic word.
Pigtail
Short length of wire spliced to several conductors so only one lead goes to a device terminal.
Make up
To splice, pigtail and fold the wires in a box so it is ready for a device or cover.