pluck

[ pluhk ]

/ plʌk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pluck ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

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

to give a pull at; grasp: to pluck someone's sleeve.

to pull with sudden force or with a jerk.

to pull or move by force (often followed by away, off, or out).

to remove the feathers, hair, etc., from by pulling: to pluck a chicken.

Slang. to rob, plunder, or fleece.

to sound (the strings of a musical instrument) by pulling at them with the fingers or a plectrum.

verb (used without object)

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

to snatch (often followed by at).

noun

act of plucking; a tug.

the heart, liver, and lungs, especially of an animal used for food.

courage or resolution in the face of difficulties.

Verb Phrases

pluck up,

to eradicate; uproot.
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.

Nearby words

Origin of pluck

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

SYNONYMS FOR pluck

2. tug. 3. yank, tear, rip. 12. bravery, boldness, determination, mettle, nerve.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pluck ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspluck·er, nounhalf-plucked, adjectiveun·plucked, adjectivewell-plucked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pluck

Pluck a pebble from a mountain and pretend the mountain is gone.
The Crazy Way Creationists Try To Explain Human Tails Without Evolution|Karl W. Giberson|June 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The human urge to pluck a string and make music goes back many millennia.
Was The Beatles’ Music Really That Unique? Yeah, It Totally Was.|Michael Tomasky|February 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The easiest thing would be to pluck another exiled oligarch out of the sin bin.
Putin Needs an Enemy After Berezovsky’s Death|Peter Pomerantsev|March 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I pluck the daisies as they grow, and take them home,' said the old woman after a short silence. '
Charles Dickens' Enduring Insights on Human Loss and Suffering|David Frum|February 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

So obviously the Obama campaign will be able to pluck many counter-examples from its file and probably fight this one to a draw.
Romney's Campaign Is Smart|Michael Tomasky|May 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was down before it, and ready, with his savage little hand, to pluck the burning coals out.
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain|Charles Dickens
To pluck a weed from the roadside and present it to one's sovereign would be no better than an insult.
The Expositor's Bible: The Second Book of Samuel|W. G. Blaikie
Think you that I cannot pluck yon chough without being pinched?
The Yeoman Adventurer|George W. Gough
“All but putting a bronze tablet in the gym, to commemorate the pluck you showed,” added Tom.
A Quarter-Back's Pluck|Lester Chadwick
I am not surprised at Gough liking him; he has a rare gift of brains as well as of pluck!
Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India|W. S. R. Hodson

British Dictionary definitions for pluck

pluck

/ (plʌk) /

verb

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

(when intr, foll by at) to pull or tug

(tr; foll by off, away, etc) archaic to pull (something) forcibly or violently (from something or someone)

(tr) to sound (the strings) of (a musical instrument) with the fingers, a plectrum, etc

(tr) another word for strip 1 (def. 7)

(tr) slang to fleece or swindle

noun

courage, usually in the face of difficulties or hardship

a sudden pull or tug

the heart, liver, and lungs, esp of an animal used for food

Derived Formsplucker, noun

Word Origin for pluck

Old English pluccian, plyccan; related to German pflücken

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pluck

pluck

late Old English ploccian, pluccian "pull off, cull," from West Germanic *plokken (cf. Middle Low German plucken, Middle Dutch plocken, Dutch plukken, Flemish plokken, German pflücken), perhaps from Vulgar Latin *piluccare (cf. Old French peluchier, late 12c.; Italian piluccare), a frequentative, ultimately from Latin pilare "pull out hair," from pilus "hair" (see pile (n.3)). But despite the similarities, OED finds difficulties with this and cites gaps in historical evidence. Related: Plucked; plucking.

To pluck a rose, an expression said to be used by women for going to the necessary house, which in the country usually stands in the garden. [F. Grose, "Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785]

This euphemistic use is attested from 1610s. To pluck up "summon up" is from c.1300.

pluck

c.1400, "act of plucking," from pluck (v.). Meaning "courage, boldness" (1785), originally in pugilism slang, is a figurative use from earlier meaning "heart, viscera" (1610s) as that which is "plucked" from slaughtered livestock. Perhaps influenced by figurative use of the verb in pluck up (one's courage, etc.), attested from c.1300.

pluck

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Verb Phrases

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Origin of pluck

Examples from the Web for pluck

pluck

verb

noun

Word Origin for pluck

pluck

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