pluck

American  

[pluhk] / plʌk /

verb (used with object)

• plucks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plucked,
  past participle,  past
• plucking
  present participle

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, orout ).

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.

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verb (used without object)

• plucks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plucked,
  past participle,  past
• plucking
  present participle

1. to pull or tug sharply (often followed byat ).

2. to snatch (often followed byat ).

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:

   nerve, mettle, determination, boldness, bravery

verb phrase

1. pluck up

   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 British  

/ plʌk /

verb

1. (tr) to pull off (feathers, fruit, etc) from (a fowl, tree, etc)

2. 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

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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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• plucker
  noun
• half-plucked
  adjective
• unplucked
  adjective
• well-plucked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• plucking
  present
• plucked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pluck
  simple
• plucks
  simple
• have plucked
  perfect
• has plucked
  perfect
• am plucking
  progressive
• are plucking
  progressive
• is plucking
  progressive
• have been plucking
  perfect progressive
• has been plucking
  perfect progressive

Past

• plucked
  simple
• had plucked
  perfect
• was plucking
  progressive
• were plucking
  progressive
• had been plucking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pluck
  simple
• will have plucked
  perfect
• will be plucking
  progressive
• will have been plucking
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pluck plucks plucked plucking

Ample low-hanging reform fruit is available for any politician who wants to pluck it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

She said finding the courage to contact police was difficult and it "took me a few days just to pluck up the courage".

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

He studied hydraulics, civil engineering and Shakespeare at the public library and impressed everyone with his pluck and problem-solving prowess.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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

Even so far, it looks large enough that its landing gear legs could reach out and pluck us up.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

"Ants, for example, this year are only available for customers who specifically ask to try them," said Atala, whose Sao Paulo restaurant D.O.M. plucks ingredients from the Amazonian wilderness to reinterpret Indigenous traditions.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Carpenter plucks Cricket from arts college and its meaningless pontificating to his “atelier in the corn,” a ramshackle Victorian where Cricket learns how to transmute what he sees with color and light.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 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

He plucks a few blackberries from the bushes around us.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

They include Bara, a male orangutan plucked from the haze on Thursday, authorities told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Four years later Fontaine plucked another future Hall of Famer, taking outfielder Tony Gwynn in the third round.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

The largest pure-play grocer in the U.S. by sales, Kroger was losing a hotly contested fight over groceries to Walmart and other rivals when the supermarket chain plucked Foran to steer a turnaround.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Picked by Aboriginals for tens of thousands of years, wattleseed, plucked from the native Acacia plants, is high in protein and traditionally roasted over an open fire and ground down to make bread.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

She dabbed toilet water behind her ears and plucked at her cheeks.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

As the waves bashed the coast this week, boulders smashed into the piles of Mitchell Leib’s Malibu home, plucking them like a “guitar string” and shaking his house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Scotland's third try was the pick of the bunch, with replacement Scott plucking Meryl Smith's pinpoint kick from the air and effortlessly stepping Kayleigh Powell to put daylight between the scores.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

Sticking only with the U.S. and just plucking a ticker symbol out of a hat would put the probability of picking the coming century’s champ at barely 0.02%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 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

“O, his manners! won’t his manners do then?” asked Biddy, plucking a black-currant leaf.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

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Related Words

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

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