Meaning of “pluck” in the English Dictionary

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"pluck" in English

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pluckverb

uk ​ /plʌk/ us ​ /plʌk/

pluck verb (REMOVE)

› [ T ] to pull something, especially with a sudden movement, in order to remove it:

Caged birds sometimes pluck out their breast feathers.
He plucked the letter from/out of my hand, and ran off with it.
Do you pluck your eyebrows (= remove some of the hairs from them to give them a better shape)?

› [ T ] to remove the feathers from a chicken or other bird so that it can be cooked and eaten

› [ T usually passive ] to remove someone suddenly from a situation that is ordinary:

He was plucked from obscurity to star in the film.

› [ T ] to remove someone quickly from a dangerous or difficult situation:

The last passengers were plucked from the ship just seconds before it sank.

› [ T ] Indian English to collect flowers by breaking or cutting their stems; pick

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Idiom(s)

pluck sth out of the air
pluck up your courage

Phrasal verb(s)

pluck at sth

plucknoun [ U ]

uk ​ /plʌk/ us ​ /plʌk/ informal

(Definition of “pluck” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"pluck" in American English

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pluckverb

us ​ /plʌk/

pluck verb (REMOVE)

› [ T ] to remove something, esp. with a sudden movement:

Astronauts plan to use the shuttle’s robot arm to pluck the satellite out of space.

› [ T ] If you pluck something, you remove hair or feathers from it by pulling:

She plucked her eyebrows.
I don’t think I could pluck a chicken.

pluck verb (PULL AT)

› [ I/T ] to pull at something with your fingers and then release it:

[ T ] Jenkins’s idea of swinging is plucking violins.
[ I ] fig. Her stories are designed to pluck at your heartstrings.

plucknoun [ U ]

us ​ /plʌk/

pluck noun [ U ] (BRAVERY)

› bravery and a strong desire to succeed:

Her 80-plus years have not dulled her pluck.

(Definition of “pluck” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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