pluck
- 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.
- to pull or tug sharply (often followed by at).
- to snatch (often followed by at).
- 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.
- 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.
Origin of pluck
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words
undertakeattemptpresumestakehazardtrybraveadventureventureendangerendeavorspeculategambleriskpluck up
- to pull out; uproot
- to muster (courage, one's spirits, etc)
pluck
- (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
- 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
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for pluck up
pluck
v.
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
n.
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.