pluck

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pluck

(plŭk)

v. plucked, pluck·ing, plucks

v.tr.

1. To remove or detach by grasping and pulling abruptly with the fingers; pick: pluck a flower; pluck feathers from a chicken.

2. To pull out the hair or feathers of: pluck a chicken.

3. To remove abruptly or forcibly: plucked their child from school in midterm.

4. To give an abrupt pull to; tug at: pluck a sleeve.

5. Music To sound (the strings of an instrument) by pulling and releasing them with the fingers or a plectrum.

v.intr.

To give an abrupt pull; tug.

1. The act or an instance of plucking.

2. Resourceful courage and daring in the face of difficulties; spirit.

3. The heart, liver, windpipe, and lungs of a slaughtered animal.

[Middle English plukken, from Old English pluccian, probably from Vulgar Latin *piluccāre, ultimately from Latin pilāre, from pilus, hair.]

pluck′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pluck

(plʌk)

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

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

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

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

5. (tr) another word for strip¹⁷

6. (tr) slang to fleece or swindle

7. courage, usually in the face of difficulties or hardship

8. a sudden pull or tug

9. (Cookery) the heart, liver, and lungs, esp of an animal used for food

[Old English pluccian, plyccan; related to German pflücken]

ˈplucker n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pluck

(plʌk)

v.t.

1. to pull off or out from the place of growth, as fruit, flowers, or feathers.

2. to grasp or grab: to pluck someone's sleeve.

3. to pull with sudden force or with a jerk.

4. to pull or detach by force (often fol. by away, off, or out).

5. to remove feathers or hair from by pulling: to pluck a chicken.

6. Slang. to rob; cheat.

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

v.i.

8. to pull or tug sharply (often fol. by at).

9. to snatch (often fol. by at).

10. the act of plucking; a tug.

11. courage; resolution.

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

pluck′er, n.

Pluck

of shawmers: a company of shawm players—Bk. of St. Albans, 1486; (a shawm is a medieval stringed musical instrument).

Examples: shawmer, a player of the shawm, 1505; a flourish of shawms, 1641.

pluck

Past participle: plucked
Gerund: plucking

Imperative
pluck
pluck

Present
I pluck
you pluck
he/she/it plucks
we pluck
you pluck
they pluck

Preterite
I plucked
you plucked
he/she/it plucked
we plucked
you plucked
they plucked

Present Continuous
I am plucking
you are plucking
he/she/it is plucking
we are plucking
you are plucking
they are plucking

Present Perfect
I have plucked
you have plucked
he/she/it has plucked
we have plucked
you have plucked
they have plucked

Past Continuous
I was plucking
you were plucking
he/she/it was plucking
we were plucking
you were plucking
they were plucking

Past Perfect
I had plucked
you had plucked
he/she/it had plucked
we had plucked
you had plucked
they had plucked

Future
I will pluck
you will pluck
he/she/it will pluck
we will pluck
you will pluck
they will pluck

Future Perfect
I will have plucked
you will have plucked
he/she/it will have plucked
we will have plucked
you will have plucked
they will have plucked

Future Continuous
I will be plucking
you will be plucking
he/she/it will be plucking
we will be plucking
you will be plucking
they will be plucking

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been plucking
you have been plucking
he/she/it has been plucking
we have been plucking
you have been plucking
they have been plucking

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been plucking
you will have been plucking
he/she/it will have been plucking
we will have been plucking
you will have been plucking
they will have been plucking

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been plucking
you had been plucking
he/she/it had been plucking
we had been plucking
you had been plucking
they had been plucking

Conditional
I would pluck
you would pluck
he/she/it would pluck
we would pluck
you would pluck
they would pluck

Past Conditional
I would have plucked
you would have plucked
he/she/it would have plucked
we would have plucked
you would have plucked
they would have plucked

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

pluck

To remove the feathers from poultry or a game bird.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	pluck - the trait of showing courage and determination in spite of possible loss or injury gutsiness, pluckiness fearlessness - the trait of feeling no fear
	2.	pluck - the act of pulling and releasing a taut cord pull, pulling - the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you; "the pull up the hill had him breathing harder"; "his strenuous pulling strained his back"
Verb	1.	pluck - pull or pull out sharply; "pluck the flowers off the bush" pull off, tweak, pick off draw, pull, force - cause to move by pulling; "draw a wagon"; "pull a sled" draw off, draw away, pull off - remove by drawing or pulling; "She placed the tray down and drew off the cloth"; "draw away the cloth that is covering the cheese" tweeze - pluck with tweezers; "tweeze facial hair"
	2.	pluck - sell something to or obtain something from by energetic and especially underhanded activity hustle, roll steal - take without the owner's consent; "Someone stole my wallet on the train"; "This author stole entire paragraphs from my dissertation"
	3.	pluck - rip off; ask an unreasonable price overcharge, plume, fleece, gazump, hook, rob, soak, surcharge extort, gouge, wring, rack, squeeze - obtain by coercion or intimidation; "They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss"; "They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him" cheat, rip off, chisel - deprive somebody of something by deceit; "The con-man beat me out of $50"; "This salesman ripped us off!"; "we were cheated by their clever-sounding scheme"; "They chiseled me out of my money"
	4.	pluck - pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion; "he plucked the strings of his mandolin" plunk, pick draw, pull, force - cause to move by pulling; "draw a wagon"; "pull a sled" twang - pluck (strings of an instrument); "He twanged his bow"
	5.	pluck - strip of feathers; "pull a chicken"; "pluck the capon" deplumate, deplume, displume, tear, pull strip - remove the surface from; "strip wood"
	6.	pluck - look for and gather; "pick mushrooms"; "pick flowers" cull, pick gather, pull together, collect, garner - assemble or get together; "gather some stones"; "pull your thoughts together" mushroom - pick or gather mushrooms; "We went mushrooming in the Fall" berry - pick or gather berries; "We went berrying in the summer"

pluck

verb

1. pull out or off, pick, draw, collect, gather, harvest I plucked a lemon from the tree.

2. tug, catch, snatch, clutch, jerk, yank, tweak, pull at He plucked the cigarette from his mouth.

3. strum, pick, finger, twang, thrum, plunk Nell was plucking a harp.

noun

1. courage, nerve, heart, spirit, bottle (Brit. slang), resolution, determination, guts (informal), balls (taboo slang), grit, bravery, backbone, mettle, boldness, spunk (informal), intrepidity, hardihood, ballsiness (taboo slang) Cynics might sneer at him but you have to admire his pluck.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

pluck

verb

To remove from a fixed position:

extract, pull, tear.

noun

The quality of mind enabling one to face danger or hardship resolutely:

Informal: spunk, spunkiness.

Slang: gut (used in plural), gutsiness, moxie.

Translations

يَسْتَجْمِعُ قِواهيَسْحَب، يَشُديَقْطُف الأزْهاريَنْتِف الرّيشيَنْتِفُ الشَّعْرَ من الحَواجِب

brnkatodvahaškubattahattrhat

hiveknipsemodplukke

pflücken rupfen Schneid zupfen

ευψυχία

arrancar desplumar

kiskaistakyniänäppäillänykäistäsinnikkyys

plumer cueillir épiler pincer tirer

megkopasztpengetbátorságbelsőségkiszakít

gripla, plokkahugrekkiplokkaplokka; hnippareyta

cogliere coraggio depilare farsi coraggio pizzicare

išrautinupeštinuskintipešiotisukaupti visą drąsą

drosmeizplūktnoplūktparautplūkt

plukken

klimpre på nappe ut ribbe

perseverança

щипать

ošklbať

almak çekmek cesaretkoparmaktellerini çekerek çalmak

勇气弹拉拔...的毛拔去

pluck

[plʌk]

A. N

1. (= tug) → tirón m

2. (= courage) → valor m, ánimo m; (= guts) → agallas fpl
it takes pluck to do that → hace falta mucho valor para hacer eso
he's got plenty of pluck → tiene muchas agallas
I didn't have the pluck to own up → no tuve el valor para confesar

B. VT [+ fruit, flower] (liter) → arrancar; [+ bird] → desplumar; [+ guitar] → pulsar, puntear
to pluck one's eyebrows → depilarse las cejas
the helicopter plucked him from the sea → el helicóptero lo recogió del mar
it's an idea I've just plucked out of the air → es una idea que he tenido al vuelo
he was plucked from obscurity to star in the show → fue rescatado del anonimato para protagonizar el espectáculo

C. VI to pluck at → tirar de, dar un tirón a
to pluck at sb's sleeve → tirar a algn de la manga

pluck off pluck out VT + ADV → arrancar con los dedos, arrancar de un tirón

pluck up VT + ADV (= summon up) to pluck up (one's) courage → armarse de valor
to pluck up the courage to do sth → armarse de valor para hacer algo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pluck

[ˈplʌk]

[+ fruit] → cueillir

(= pull) → arracher
They were plucked from the icy river → On les arracha aux eaux glacées.
to be plucked to safety → être mis à l'abri
to pluck out of the air [+ idea, figure, date] → lancer au juger or au jugé

[+ guitar, harp, strings] → pincer

[+ bird] → plumer

to pluck one's eyebrows → s'épiler les sourcils

n → courage m, cran m

pluck up

vt sep
to pluck up courage → prendre son courage à deux mains
to pluck up the courage to do sth → trouver le courage de faire qch
I eventually plucked up enough courage to ask her for her number → J'ai fini par trouver assez de courage pour lui demander son numéro.

pluck at

vt fus [+ sleeve, loose thread] → tirer

pluck

(= courage) → Schneid m (inf), → Mut m

(of animal) → Innereien pl

fruit, flower → pflücken; chicken → rupfen; guitar, eyebrows → zupfen; to pluck (at) somebody’s sleeve → jdn am Ärmel zupfen; he plucked a stray hair off his coat → er zupfte sich (dat) → ein Haar vom Mantel; she was plucked from obscurity to become a film star → sie wurde von einer Unbekannten zum Filmstar gemacht; his rescuers had plucked him from the jaws of death → seine Retter hatten ihn den Klauen des Todes entrissen; he was plucked to safety → er wurde in Sicherheit gebracht; to pluck something out of the air → etw aus der Luft greifen; to pluck up (one’s) courage → all seinen Mut zusammennehmen

(also pluck out) hair, feather → auszupfen; if thy right eye offend thee pluck it out (Bibl) → wenn dir dein rechtes Auge zum Ärgernis wird, so reiß es aus

vi to pluck at something → an etw (dat) → (herum)zupfen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pluck

[plʌk]

1. n (courage) → coraggio, fegato

2. vt (fruit, flower) → cogliere (also pluck out) → strappare (Mus) (strings) → pizzicare; (guitar) → pizzicare le corde di (Culin) (bird) → spennare
to pluck one's eyebrows → depilarsi le sopracciglia
to pluck up (one's) courage → farsi coraggio, armarsi di coraggio

3. vi to pluck at sb's sleeve → tirare qn per la manica

pluck

(plak) verb

1. to pull. She plucked a grey hair from her head; He plucked at my sleeve.

2. to pull the feathers off (a chicken etc) before cooking it.

3. to pick (flowers etc).

4. to pull hairs out of (eyebrows) in order to improve their shape.

5. to pull and let go (the strings of a musical instrument).

noun

courage He showed a lot of pluck.

ˈplucky adjective

courageous. a plucky young fellow.

ˈpluckily adverb

ˈpluckiness noun

pluck up (the) courage/energy etc

to gather up one's courage etc (to do something). She plucked up (the) courage to ask a question.

References in classic literature ?

They dreamt that a girl all dressed in red had come to them and said: 'If you wish that your son should really become the Sun-Hero in deed and not only in name, let him go out into the world and search for the Tree of the Sun, and when he has found it, let him pluck a golden apple from it and bring it home.'

The Queen consented with many tears, and the King at once bade his son set forth in search of the Tree of the Sun, from which he was to pluck a golden apple.

View in context

'Designed to surprise you, Lord Frederick,' said Mr Pluck.

View in context

He sold more meat for one penny than we could sell for three; and he gave extra weight to whatsoever lass would buss him." And others said, "He is some prodigal who knows not the value of goods, and may be plucked by a shrewd man right closely."

View in context

And in your garden the man must never pluck the last of your posies.

View in context

Yet I was hopeful, and though, as it turned out, he was busily engaged in talking to Thedosei Ivanovitch, I walked up to him from behind, and plucked at his sleeve.

View in context

"In a steeplechase it all depends on riding and on pluck," said the Englishman.

View in context

So the Swallow plucked out the Prince's eye, and flew away to the student's garret.

View in context

A Dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to her.

View in context

At last he dreamt one night that he found a beautiful purple flower, and that in the middle of it lay a costly pearl; and he dreamt that he plucked the flower, and went with it in his hand into the castle, and that everything he touched with it was disenchanted, and that there he found his Jorinda again.

View in context

When the dole was ended, laughingly she said, Master, of a million mouths, is not one unfed?" Laughing, Shiv made answer, "All have had their part, Even he, the little one, hidden 'neath thy heart." From her breast she plucked it, Parbati the thief, Saw the Least of Little Things gnawed a new-grown leaf!

View in context

Finding it so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers, and present it to the reader.