pluck

[pluhk]

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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,
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.

Origin of pluck

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

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

Synonyms for pluck

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pluck up

undertake, attempt, presume, stake, hazard, try, brave, adventure, venture, endanger, endeavor, speculate, gamble, risk

British Dictionary definitions for pluck up

pluck up

verb (tr, adverb)

to pull out; uproot
to muster (courage, one's spirits, etc)

pluck

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 up

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.