pluck

verb

\ ˈplək

plucked; plucking; plucks

Definition of pluck

(Entry 1 of 2)

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 eyebrows

b : 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 at

b : to play by sounding the strings with the fingers or a pick

intransitive verb

: to make a sharp pull or twitch

pluck

noun

Definition of pluck (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Other Words from pluck Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about pluck

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Examples of pluck in a Sentence

Verb

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.

Noun

It takes pluck to do what she did. She showed pluck in getting up on stage.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Galen, the renowned second century Greek physician, prescribed an avian cure for colic pains: crested lark (plucked and roasted, of course). — David Holahan, The Christian Science Monitor, "'The Wonderful Mr. Willughby' profiles a pioneer of ornithology and early scientist," 12 July 2018 That said anybody can pluck Robinson off the Heat's Summer League team at any point and sign him to a two-way deal or even a roster spot. — Manny Navarro, miamiherald, "Heat Check mailbag: After missing out on LaVine could Tyler Johnson be a fit for Kings?," 9 July 2018 The Kansas City Royals plucked right-hander Brad Keller away from the Diamondbacks in the Rule 5 draft, and after spending the first two months of the season in the bullpen, Keller has begun to transition into the Royals’ starting rotation. — Nick Piecoro, azcentral, "Royals pitcher Brad Keller is Diamondbacks' Rule 5 loss," 22 June 2018 Tamera Mowry-Housley and her husband Adam’s home may be in Napa Valley, but the kitchen looks like it was plucked straight from the south. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "Tamera Mowry's Napa Valley Home Has the Most Amazing Farmhouse Kitchen," 13 July 2018 Her digital image was set in motion and Yura plucked a budding flower. — Tara Knight, The Root, "Beyond the Blue," 13 May 2018 Drug dealers hung out on the Central Park side, and whenever a sale was consummated, dashed off to pluck dime bags out of the trees. — Justin Davidson, Daily Intelligencer, "The Megamall–Hotel–Condo–Concert Hall That Ate New York City," 10 Jan. 2018 The new Amazon software can read digitized patient records and other clinical notes, analyze them and pluck out key data points, Amazon said. — Laura Stevens, WSJ, "Big Tech Expands Footprint in Health," 27 Nov. 2018 Tacio, who was at the scene of the landslide earlier Sunday, says rescuers found another man but could not immediately pluck his body, which was pinned by rocks and mud. — Fox News, "The Latest: Dozens feared trapped in Philippine landslide," 16 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Although she’s been married four times already, Debra launches herself on her benign manhunt with all the pluck of someone who’s never seen an online dating montage. — John Anderson, WSJ, "‘Dirty John’ Review: It Sounded Better in the Original," 21 Nov. 2018 These women have always lived here, through the reincarnations of the barrio named for Manuela Malasaña, a 15-year-old girl who defended her honor to the death, with pluck and a pair of scissors, against occupying Napoleonic forces. — Elizabeth Wellington, Vogue, "Where to Eat and Shop in Malasaña, the Williamsburg of Madrid," 22 July 2018 But the trend doesn’t pluck at the heartstrings of all. — Meredith Goldstein, BostonGlobe.com, "Wedding bells are ringing, but justices of the peace aren’t getting the call," 18 June 2018 While national Democratic organizations admire O’Rourke’s pluck, most appear disinclined to divert resources to Texas, and O’Rourke made a show of spurning one of his party’s top PAC donors, Tom Steyer. — Andrew Rice, Daily Intelligencer, "Can a Democrat Ever Win in Texas?," 10 July 2018 Despite the odds and the incoming ordnance, the citizens of Vicksburg retained their pluck and defiance to the bitter end. — Russell S. Bonds, WSJ, "‘Vicksburg’ Review: The Falling Tide of Gray," 20 June 2018 If Friedenberg begins the play with refreshing pluck and sass for a part usually played for woebegone submission, her Ophelia goes jarringly musical theater in her own scene of madness. — Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, "Youth gives some new energy to Marin Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet,’ but not enough," 2 June 2018 And behind the scenes, some White House advisers applauded these lawmakers’ pluck. — Philip Elliott, Time, "The House GOP Is in Chaos," 21 May 2018 Their helpers, village women in colorful head wraps, used the yard to scrub clothes and pluck chicken feathers. — Hedia Anvar, Longreads, "How To Build An Intellectual," 23 June 2018

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.