pluck

[pluhk] /plʌk/
verb (used with object)
1.
to pull off or out from the place of growth, as fruit, flowers, feathers, etc.:
to pluck feathers from a chicken.
2.
to give a pull at; grasp:
to pluck someone's sleeve.
3.
to pull with sudden force or with a jerk.
4.
to pull or move by force (often followed by away, off, or out).
5.
to remove the feathers, hair, etc., from by pulling:
to pluck a chicken.
6.
Slang. to rob, plunder, or fleece.
7.
to sound (the strings of a musical instrument) by pulling at them with the fingers or a plectrum.
verb (used without object)
8.
to pull or tug sharply (often followed by at).
9.
to snatch (often followed by at).
noun
10.
act of plucking; a tug.
11.
the heart, liver, and lungs, especially of an animal used for food.
12.
courage or resolution in the face of difficulties.
Verb phrases
13.
pluck up,
  1. to eradicate; uproot.
  2. to summon up one's courage; rouse one's spirits:
    He always plucked up at the approach of danger. She was a stranger in the town, but, plucking up her courage, she soon made friends.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English plukken (v.), Old English pluccian, cognate with Middle Low German plucken; akin to Dutch plukken, German pflücken
Related forms
plucker, noun
half-plucked, adjective
unplucked, adjective
well-plucked, adjective
Synonyms
2. tug. 3. yank, tear, rip. 12. bravery, boldness, determination, mettle, nerve.
Examples from the web for pluck
  • Someone in the audience did pluck up the courage to ask what set them apart.
  • Most thumb-pickers use a flexible plastic pick on their thumb to pluck the strings.
  • Adept hunters, osprey dive from far above the surface to pluck fish from the water.
  • Mistaking them for berries, birds pluck the seeds from fruit and excrete them over a wide territory.
  • The officials said another search was under way this evening after the initial rescue effort failed to pluck him from the waters.
  • But leave one or two nose hairs in case you need something to pluck to induce a stuck sneeze.
  • Rich brown in color, oilbirds have powerful hooked beaks that they use to pluck fruit while hovering in the air.
  • Another hypothesis is that primates needed to see well to pluck fruits from the ends of tree branches.
  • The keyboard sends signals to hammers that mechanically pluck the guitar strings when activated.
  • The planes are designed to pluck all kinds of communications from the air.
British Dictionary definitions for pluck

pluck

/plʌk/
verb
1.
(transitive) to pull off (feathers, fruit, etc) from (a fowl, tree, etc)
2.
when intr, foll by at. to pull or tug
3.
(transitive; foll by off, away, etc) (archaic) to pull (something) forcibly or violently (from something or someone)
4.
(transitive) to sound (the strings) of (a musical instrument) with the fingers, a plectrum, etc
5.
(transitive) another word for strip1 (sense 7)
6.
(transitive) (slang) to fleece or swindle
noun
7.
courage, usually in the face of difficulties or hardship
8.
a sudden pull or tug
9.
the heart, liver, and lungs, esp of an animal used for food
Derived Forms
plucker, noun
Word Origin
Old English pluccian, plyccan; related to German pflücken
Word Origin and History for pluck
v.

late Old English ploccian, pluccian "pull off, cull," from West Germanic *plokken (cf. Middle Low German plucken, Middle Dutch plocken, Dutch plukken, Flemish plokken, German pflücken), perhaps from Vulgar Latin *piluccare (cf. Old French peluchier, late 12c.; Italian piluccare), a frequentative, ultimately from Latin pilare "pull out hair," from pilus "hair" (see pile (n.3)). But despite the similarities, OED finds difficulties with this and cites gaps in historical evidence. Related: Plucked; plucking.

To pluck a rose, an expression said to be used by women for going to the necessary house, which in the country usually stands in the garden. [F. Grose, "Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785]
This euphemistic use is attested from 1610s. To pluck up "summon up" is from c.1300.

n.

c.1400, "act of plucking," from pluck (v.). Meaning "courage, boldness" (1785), originally in pugilism slang, is a figurative use from earlier meaning "heart, viscera" (1610s) as that which is "plucked" from slaughtered livestock. Perhaps influenced by figurative use of the verb in pluck up (one's courage, etc.), attested from c.1300.

Slang definitions & phrases for pluck

pluck 1

verb

To rob or cheat; fleece: These bimbos once helped pluck a bank

[1400+; fr the image of plucking a chicken]


pluck 2

verb

To do the sex act with or to; screw

[1950s+; a euphemism for fuck]