Pluck

/plʌk/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To pull something sharply; to pull something out.

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To pull something sharply; to pull something out
2. (transitive) To take or remove (someone) quickly from a particular place or situation.
3. (transitive, music) To play (a single string on a musical instrument) by pulling and then releasing it, such as on a guitar.
4. (transitive) To remove feathers from (a bird).
5. (transitive, now rare) To rob, steal from; to cheat or swindle (someone).
6. (transitive) To play a string instrument pizzicato.
7. (intransitive) To pull or twitch sharply.
8. (UK, university slang, transitive, obsolete) To reject (a student) after they fail an examination for a degree.

Example Sentences

She plucked the phone from her bag and dialled.

The girl stooped to pluck a rose, and as she bent over it, her profile was clearly outlined.

"I want to bring that date forward. You only get one shot at this, and if I pluck a date from the air, you will judge me by it. So, until I am certain, I'm sticking with the previous date. [...].

First of all, he says a lot of the promotions from the ranks are promotions of the sons of officers who have gone wrong , or got "plucked," or what not, and who are brought up again along another road for commissioned rank.

The hardest mission fell to the tanker aircraft, decidedly unglamorous birds, mainly flown by Air Force Reserve crews—most of them plucked from their airline jobs—so rapidly called into service that FAA rules for crew rest time on domestic airlines were quietly violated for the next several weeks.

Whereas a piano strikes the string, a harpsichord plucks it.

Molly the dairymaid came a little way from the rickyard, and said she would pluck the pigeon that very night after work. She was always ready to do anything for us boys; and we could never quite make out why they scolded her so for an idle hussy indoors. It seemed so unjust.

Indeed they seem to consider foreigners as strangers whom they should never see again, and might fairly pluck.

Synonyms for pluck

Antonyms for pluck

Related Words

Word Forms

• plucks
• plucking
• plucked
• pluckt

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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