pluck

¹pluck

verb \ˈplək\

Definition of PLUCK

transitive verb

1

: to pull or pick off or out

2

a : to remove something (as hairs) from by or as if by plucking <pluck one's eyebrows> b : rob, fleece

3

: to move, remove, or separate forcibly or abruptly <plucked the child from the middle of the street>

4

a : to pick, pull, or grasp at b : to play by sounding the strings with the fingers or a pick

intransitive verb

: to make a sharp pull or twitch

— pluck·er noun

Examples of PLUCK

1. My sister plucked a white hair from my head.
2. The hunter plucked the bird's feathers.
3. plucking petals off a flower
4. Firefighters plucked the child from the top floor of the burning building.
5. He'd been plucked from obscurity and thrust into the national spotlight.
6. a cat that was plucked off the city's streets last winter
7. He plucked a stone out of the river.

Origin of PLUCK

Middle English, from Old English pluccian; akin to Middle High German pflücken to pluck

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to PLUCK

Synonyms: beat, bilk, bleed, cheat, chisel, chouse, con, cozen, defraud, diddle, do, do in, euchre, fiddle, flimflam, gaff, gyp, hose [slang], hustle, mulct, nobble [British slang], fleece, ream, rip off, rook, screw, shake down, short, shortchange, skin, skunk, squeeze, stick, stiff, sting, sucker, swindle, thimblerig, victimize

Related Words: extort, wrench, wrest, wring; clip, gouge, nick, overcharge, soak; exploit, milk; deceive, dupe, fool, gull, trick; rope (in); betray, bitch, double-cross; bamboozle, fast-talk

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Rhymes with PLUCK

buck, chuck, cluck, cruck, duck, guck, huck, luck, muck, puck, ruck, schmuck, shuck, struck, suck, truck, Truk, tuck, yech, yuck