pluck
Americanverb (used with object)
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to pull off or out from the place of growth, as fruit, flowers, feathers, etc..
to pluck feathers from a chicken.
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to give a pull at; grasp.
to pluck someone's sleeve.
- Synonyms:
- tug
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to pull with sudden force or with a jerk.
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to pull or move by force (often followed by away, off, orout ).
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to remove the feathers, hair, etc., from by pulling.
to pluck a chicken.
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Slang. to rob, plunder, or fleece.
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to sound (the strings of a musical instrument) by pulling at them with the fingers or a plectrum.
verb (used without object)
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to pull or tug sharply (often followed byat ).
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to snatch (often followed byat ).
noun
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act of plucking; a tug.
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the heart, liver, and lungs, especially of an animal used for food.
-
courage or resolution in the face of difficulties.
- Synonyms:
- nerve, mettle, determination, boldness, bravery
verb phrase
verb
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(tr) to pull off (feathers, fruit, etc) from (a fowl, tree, etc)
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to pull or tug
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archaic (tr; foll by off, away, etc) to pull (something) forcibly or violently (from something or someone)
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(tr) to sound (the strings) of (a musical instrument) with the fingers, a plectrum, etc
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(tr) another word for strip 1
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slang (tr) to fleece or swindle
noun
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courage, usually in the face of difficulties or hardship
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a sudden pull or tug
-
the heart, liver, and lungs, esp of an animal used for food
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
plucksimple
-
pluckssimple
-
have pluckedperfect
-
has pluckedperfect
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am pluckingprogressive
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are pluckingprogressive
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is pluckingprogressive
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have been pluckingperfect progressive
-
has been pluckingperfect progressive
Past
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pluckedsimple
-
had pluckedperfect
-
was pluckingprogressive
-
were pluckingprogressive
-
had been pluckingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pluck
before 1000; Middle English plukken (v.), Old English pluccian, cognate with Middle Low German plucken; akin to Dutch plukken, German pflücken
Explanation
To pluck is to pick or pull a single item out of many, like a flower or a hair. As a noun, pluck is energy or enthusiasm, even when things are looking grim. Don't pluck only the best cherries off the tree: that's cherry-picking! Before you cook a goose, you need to pluck its feathers. If it looks like your goose is cooked, however, then show some pluck, and figure out a way to save yourself. Some characters who are famous for showing pluck include the Artful Dodger, Little Orphan Annie, and Benji the dog. They all kept their chins up and kept on trying, even when things looked really dark.
Vocabulary lists containing pluck
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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"The Song of Wandering Aengus" by W.B. Yeats
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The Magician's Nephew
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Teams cannot pluck a developmental player from another team on a developmental deal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
If you take the three releases and pluck the best tracks from each—a half-dozen songs from both “Iceman” and “Maid,” and one from “Habibti”—you have a strong Drake record with a lot of variety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
So Levinson decided to pluck down $850 for two Category 3 tickets — among the cheapest available — for he and his wife to go the final U.S. group-play game at SoFi Stadium in June.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
If Bezos had any of that pluck, we certainly would not be reading about the Post’s pending demise.
From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2026
The buzzing fluorescent fixture above me casts its harsh light on my crooked fingers as they pluck pieces of fruit from the bowl.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
He frequently plucks from his tremendous word hoard gems that will send you to the dictionary: bonxie, fankle, rupestral, stramash, zawn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
And it plucks a nerve in a country still scarred by its history of militarism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Plus, each claw kicks up a relatively small puff of sediment as it plucks its target off the seafloor.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2025
At this point, Sparks plucks each of the rooted slips off the sweet potato and plants them about a foot apart from one another in dirt that’s at least a foot deep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
She combs her hair, spots a lone gray strand and plucks it with a flourish.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Ms. Salvant’s 2023 release, “Mélusine,” included songs that dated back to the 12th century, sung in four languages, and made prominent use of the theorbo, the plucked lute used for Baroque basso continuo accompaniment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
When a violin string is plucked, it produces a main tone along with a series of overtones.
From Science Daily ● May 19, 2026
We plucked three healthy tomato plants and three pots.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Germany-born Turkey international Kenan Yildiz, plucked from Bayern Munich's ranks aged 17, has more goals or assists than any of his team-mates this term.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
The tall human crouched, plucked a piece of rubbish from the roadside, then stuffed it into a bag.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Truist Financial TFC -0.60%decrease; red down pointing triangle has hired Michael Lyons as its next president and chief executive, plucking the executive from Fiserv.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
"It is a pretty-looking thing," he concedes, plucking fragments off a clump torn from a carpet of green moss.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
It bursts with insights that mix journalistic acumen with gossip, backed by a score generously seasoned with mischievous violin string plucking.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026
She’s over wasting time plucking chin hairs, searching for brain fog-induced lost reading glasses and — most of all — withholding her opinions so as not to offend others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2026
A man squats beside a pool of muddy water, plucking a chicken.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
