pluck

[ pluhk ]

verb (used with object)

1. to pull off or out from the place of growth, as fruit, flowers, feathers, etc.:

   to pluck feathers from a chicken.

2. to give a pull at; grasp:

   to pluck someone's sleeve.

   Synonyms: tug

3. to pull with sudden force or with a jerk.

   Synonyms: rip, tear, yank

4. to pull or move by force (often followed by away, off, or out ).
5. to remove the feathers, hair, etc., from by pulling:

   to pluck a chicken.

6. Slang. to rob, plunder, or fleece.
7. to sound (the strings of a musical instrument) by pulling at them with the fingers or a plectrum.

verb (used without object)

1. to pull or tug sharply (often followed by at ).
2. to snatch (often followed by at ).

noun

1. act of plucking; a tug.
2. the heart, liver, and lungs, especially of an animal used for food.
3. courage or resolution in the face of difficulties.

   Synonyms: boldness, nerve, mettle, determination, bravery

verb phrase

1. 1. to eradicate; uproot.
   2. to summon up one's courage; rouse one's spirits:

      He always plucked up at the approach of danger. She was a stranger in the town, but, plucking up her courage, she soon made friends.

pluck

/ plʌk /

verb

1. tr to pull off (feathers, fruit, etc) from (a fowl, tree, etc)
2. whenintr, foll by at to pull or tug
3. archaic.
   tr; foll by off, away, etc to pull (something) forcibly or violently (from something or someone)
4. tr to sound (the strings) of (a musical instrument) with the fingers, a plectrum, etc
5. tr another word for strip 1
6. slang.
   tr to fleece or swindle

noun

1. courage, usually in the face of difficulties or hardship
2. a sudden pull or tug
3. the heart, liver, and lungs, esp of an animal used for food

Derived Forms

• ˈplucker, noun

Other Words From

• plucker noun
• half-plucked adjective
• un·plucked adjective
• well-plucked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pluck¹

before 1000; Middle English plukken (v.), Old English pluccian, cognate with Middle Low German plucken; akin to Dutch plukken, German pflücken

Word History and Origins

Origin of pluck¹

Old English pluccian, plyccan; related to German pflücken

Example Sentences

Bluetooth pairing comes with the pluck of a guitar and that button lights up too—it’s one of the easiest, best Bluetooth speaker designs to use.

From Popular-Science

The midrange, where the song breathes, was forward but never strident and the earphones presented the more delicate guitar plucks and crisp piano melodies better than my AirPods Pro.

From Popular-Science

Bergdahl, who appeared in a previous video pleading for the United States to rescue him, seems to have demonstrated no such pluck.

From The Daily Beast

Pluck a pebble from a mountain and pretend the mountain is gone.

From The Daily Beast

Maintaining tight eye contact, the butlers pluck out audience members for a gripping, melancholic dance.

From The Daily Beast

The human urge to pluck a string and make music goes back many millennia.

From The Daily Beast

The easiest thing would be to pluck another exiled oligarch out of the sin bin.

From The Daily Beast

It is more advantageous to pluck the leaves when they are dry than when they are moist.

From Project Gutenberg

You've done a big thing to-day, and if you hadn't had more pluck and ginger than common, it's a cinch you'd have lost out.

From Project Gutenberg

You that hate good, and love evil: that violently pluck off their skins from them and their flesh from their bones?

From Project Gutenberg

And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: and will crush thy cities.

From Project Gutenberg

For a pen she would catch a goose, pluck a quill, and ask Billy to cut it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clutch
• cull
• harvest
• snatch
• strum
• yank