Definition of pluck
transitive verb
1 : to pull or pick off or out
2a : to remove something (such as hairs) from by or as if by plucking pluck one's eyebrowsb : rob, fleece
3 : to move, remove, or separate forcibly or abruptly plucked the child from the middle of the street
4a : to pick, pull, or grasp atb : to play by sounding the strings with the fingers or a pick
intransitive verb
: to make a sharp pull or twitch
plucker
nounFrom the M-W Editors
Examples of pluck in a Sentence
My sister plucked a white hair from my head.
The hunter plucked the bird's feathers.
plucking petals off a flower
Firefighters plucked the child from the top floor of the burning building.
He'd been plucked from obscurity and thrust into the national spotlight.
a cat that was plucked off the city's streets last winter
He plucked a stone out of the river.
Recent Examples of pluck from the Web
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Hutson glides like a mountain lion, low to the ground, and then rises to pluck passes from the air.
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The present task is to pluck those who belong from those who do not.
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Living, burning poetry already seemed traduced when it was plucked from the air and written down, forced into rhymes and sonnet forms; his was demotic and free-flowing.
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There was the oversize, single style plucked straight from runway shows like Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Céline to name a few.
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The club is 9-5-5 overall in 2017 and has managed major upsets with two divergent starting lineups, which speaks to the quality and depth head coach Alan Koch has plucked from a roster that now numbers 24, as well as Koch's tactical prowess.
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Hoburg is the first astronaut candidate to be plucked from the ranks of a tenure-track faculty position at a major research university.
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Stewart was one of just 600 contestants plucked from 70,000 applicants to compete in the show.
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It was snuffed out two pitches later, plucked out of the air by the TCU shortstop and extinguished at second base.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pluck.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of pluck
Middle English, from Old English pluccian; akin to Middle High German pflücken to pluck
pluck
Definition of pluck
1 : an act or instance of plucking or pulling
2 : the heart, liver, lungs, and trachea of a slaughtered animal especially as an item of food
3 : courageous readiness to fight or continue against odds : dogged resolution
Examples of pluck in a Sentence
It takes pluck to do what she did.
She showed pluck in getting up on stage.
Recent Examples of pluck from the Web
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The song is piloted by soft organ chords, a perky bassline and bubbly plucks, all of which clasp to his mysterious tone.
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But her materials sound far more ancient: Violin lines that mix African fiddle techniques with percussive taps and plucks, and bits of modal melody stacked into songs.
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But the city’s heart and its grace for the last 65 years was a woman who had the pluck to venture here — alone — from a small town in Minnesota to seek her higher education degree in the early 1950s.
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The outcome will be decided as much by luck as pluck.
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The Twins’ big inning, a six-run seventh, was the result of 80 percent patience and 20 percent pluck: a soft single, a bunt single, a sacrifice and a whole bunch of walks.
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Pluck apart owl pellets to discover what the prey tells us about the predators.
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The Cubans have survived the U.S. embargo by their own pluck, by trading with other countries in Latin America and by hosting tourists from Canada and Europe, who have been showing up all along.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pluck.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of pluck
15th century
PLUCK Defined for English Language Learners
pluck
playDefinition of pluck for English Language Learners
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: to pull (something) quickly to remove it
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: to remove some or all of the feathers or hairs from (something)
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: to take (someone or something) away from a place or situation suddenly or by force
pluck
Definition of pluck for English Language Learners
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: a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult : courage and determination
PLUCK Defined for Kids
Definition of pluck for Students
plucked
;plucking
Learn More about pluck
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See words that rhyme with pluck Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pluck Spanish Central: Translation of pluck Nglish: Translation of pluck for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pluck for Arabic speakers
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