Standard Lemma guide

pluck

noun · verb · 21 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /plʌk/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Ireland, Northern-England: /plʊk/
  • rhymes with -ʌk
  • CMU ARPABET: P L AH1 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An instance of plucking or pulling sharply.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Those tiny birds are hardly worth the tedious pluck.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The lungs, heart with trachea and often oesophagus removed from slaughtered animals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Guts, nerve, fortitude or persistence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, informal, uncountable

Examples

  • He didn't get far with the attempt, but you have to admire his pluck.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: audacity, balls, bield, boldhead, boldness, bravehood, braveness, bravery, courage, courageousness, daring, fearlessness, grit, guts, heart, intrepidity, intrepidness, mood, nerve, ovaries, pecker, pluck, spunk, steel, undauntedness, valour

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Cheap wine.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang, uncountable

Qualifier: African-American Vernacular

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: plonk

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To pull something sharply; to pull something out

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • She plucked the phone from her bag and dialled.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To take or remove (someone) quickly from a particular place or situation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To play (a single string on a musical instrument) by pulling and then releasing it, such as on a guitar.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

Examples

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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To remove feathers from (a bird).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: defeather

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

To rob, steal from; to cheat or swindle (someone).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

verb

Meaning 10

To play a string instrument pizzicato.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • Plucking a bow instrument may cause a string to break.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

verb

Meaning 11

To pull or twitch sharply.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • to pluck at somebody's sleeve

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

verb

Meaning 12

To reject (a student) after they fail an examination for a degree.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, obsolete, transitive

Qualifier: university slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

verb

Meaning 13

Of a glacier: to transport individual pieces of bedrock by means of gradual erosion through freezing and thawing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

noun

Meaning 14

the act of pulling and releasing a taut cord

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: pull, pulling

15

noun

Meaning 15

the trait of showing courage and determination in spite of possible loss or injury

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gutsiness, pluckiness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fearlessness

16

verb

Meaning 16

look for and gather

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • pick mushrooms
  • pick flowers

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pick, cull

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: gather, garner, collect, pull together

Narrower terms: mushroom, berry

17

verb

Meaning 17

strip of feathers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • pull a chicken
  • pluck the capon

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pull, tear, deplume, deplumate, displume

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: strip

18

verb

Meaning 18

pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he plucked the strings of his mandolin

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: plunk, pick

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: pull, draw, force

Narrower terms: twang

19

verb

Meaning 19

pull or pull out sharply

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • pluck the flowers off the bush

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tweak, pull off, pick off

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: pull, draw, force

Narrower terms: tweeze

20

verb

Meaning 20

rip off; ask an unreasonable price

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: overcharge, soak, surcharge, gazump, fleece, plume, rob, hook

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cheat, rip off, chisel

Narrower terms: extort, squeeze, rack, gouge, wring

21

verb

Meaning 21

sell something to or obtain something from by energetic and especially underhanded activity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hustle, roll

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: steal

History

Etymology

From Middle English plucken, plukken, plockien, from Old English pluccian, ploccian (“to pluck, pull away, tear”), also Old English plyċċan ("to pluck, pull, snatch; pluck with desire"), from Proto-West Germanic *plukkōn, from Proto-Germanic *plukkōną, *plukkijaną (“to pluck”), of uncertain and disputed origin. Perhaps related to Old English pullian (“to pull, draw; pluck off; snatch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian plukje (“to pluck”), West Frisian plôkje (“to pick, pluck”), Dutch plukken (“to pluck”), Limburgish plógte (“to pluck”), Low German plukken (“to pluck”), German pflücken (“to pluck, pick”), Danish and Norwegian plukke (“to pick”), Swedish plocka (“to pick, pluck, cull”), Icelandic plokka, plukka (“to pluck, pull”). More at pull. An alternative etymology suggests Proto-Germanic *plukkōną, *plukkijaną may have been borrowed from an assumed Vulgar Latin *pilūc(i)cāre, a derivative of Latin pilāre (“deprive of hair, make bald, depilate”), from pilus (“hair”). The Oxford English Dictionary, however, finds difficulties with this and cites gaps in historical evidence. The noun sense of "heart, liver, and lights of an animal" comes from it being plucked out of the carcass after the animal is killed; the sense of "fortitude, boldness" derives from this meaning, originally being a boxing slang denoting a prize-ring, with semantic development from "heart", the symbol of courage, to "fortitude, boldness".

Across languages

Translations

206 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: дърпане (dǎrpane) — instance of plucking
  • Bulgarian: скубане (skubane) — instance of plucking
  • Czech: škubnutí — instance of plucking
  • Czech: trhnutí — instance of plucking
  • Dutch: pluk — instance of plucking
  • Dutch: gepluk — instance of plucking
  • Dutch: plukken — instance of plucking
  • Latvian: plūkšana — instance of plucking
  • Portuguese: depenagem — instance of plucking
  • Portuguese: arranca — instance of plucking
  • Romanian: smulgere — instance of plucking
  • Romanian: jumulire — instance of plucking
  • Bulgarian: карантия (karantija) — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Czech: droby — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Dutch: ingewanden — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Dutch: slachtafval — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • French: abats — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Hungarian: belsőség — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Italian: corata — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Italian: coratella — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Navajo: ajéí — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Polish: podroby — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Portuguese: fressura — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Romanian: măruntaie — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Russian: потроха (potroxa) — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Serbo-Croatian: utroba — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Serbo-Croatian: drob — offal from the trunk of an animal
  • Catalan: perseverància — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Czech: kuráž — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Czech: odvaha — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Dutch: moed — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Dutch: doorzettingsvermogen — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Finnish: sinnikkyys — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • French: persévérance — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Hungarian: bátorság — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Icelandic: táp — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Italian: perseveranza — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Italian: coraggio — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Italian: nervi saldi — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Italian: fegato — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Māori: kiriūka — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Polish: hart ducha — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Polish: odwaga — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Portuguese: fôlego — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Romanian: perseverență — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Russian: насто́йчивость (nastójčivostʹ) — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Russian: неотсту́пность (neotstúpnostʹ) — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Russian: упо́рство (upórstvo) — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Spanish: perseverancia — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Turkish: yiğitlik — nerve, fortitude, persistence
  • Albanian: nduk — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Southern Altai: јулар (ǰular) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Arabic: قَطَفَ (qaṭafa) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Arabic: قطف (gɪtʕɐf) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Armenian: պոկել (pokel) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Armenian: փետել (pʻetel) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Assamese: পাৰা (para) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Bulgarian: късам (kǎsam) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Chinese Mandarin: 摘 (zhāi) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Czech: vytrhnout — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Czech: utrhnout — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Danish: plukke — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Dutch: plukken — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Dutch: grabbelen — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Dutch: grijpen — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Dutch: rukken — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Esperanto: pluki — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Finnish: nykäistä — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Finnish: kiskaista — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • French: tirer — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Galician: tirar — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Galician: depenar — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • German: pflücken — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • German: abrupfen — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Ancient Greek: τίλλω (tíllō) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Hebrew: קטף (qatáf) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Hungarian: kitép — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Hungarian: kiszakít — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Hungarian: leszakít — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Icelandic: plokka — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Japanese: 摘む (tsumu) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Japanese: もぐ (mogu) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Kyrgyz: жулуу (juluu) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Latin: carpō — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Latin: vellō — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Latvian: plūkt — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Latvian: izraut — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Lithuanian: skinti — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Lithuanian: rėkšti — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: kape — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: kato — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: hīkaro — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: kopikopi — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: huti — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: whaki — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: whawhaki — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: whakiwhaki — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Māori: tīkaro — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Central Sierra Miwok: ṭupum·yufe (hair) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Nahuatl: huihuitla — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Norwegian: plukke — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Norwegian: røske — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: plukka — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Old Church Slavonic: чесати (česati) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Oromo: rifuu — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Polish: wyszarpnąć — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Polish: zbierać — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Polish: zebrać — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Portuguese: arrancar — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Romanian: trage — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Romanian: scoate — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Russian: выдёргивать (vydjórgivatʹ) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Russian: вы́дернуть (výdernutʹ) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Samoan: ʻape — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Somali: rifid — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Tamil: பறி (paṟi) — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Turkish: koparmak — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Turkish: yolmak — to pull something sharply; to pull something out
  • Chinese Mandarin: 彈撥 /弹拨 (tánbō) — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Czech: brnkat — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Dutch: plukken — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Finnish: näppäillä — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • French: pincer — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • German: zupfen — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • German: schlagen — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Hungarian: penget — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Italian: pizzicare — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Malay: memetik — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Māori: kato — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Norwegian: plukke — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Polish: brzdęknąć — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Portuguese: tocar — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Portuguese: palhetar — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Portuguese: ferir — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Romanian: ciupi — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Russian: щипа́ть (ščipátʹ) — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Russian: перебира́ть (perebirátʹ) — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Russian: игра́ть (igrátʹ) — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Slovene: ubirati — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Spanish: herir — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Swedish: plocka — music: to play a single string by pulling and then releasing it
  • Armenian: փետրել (pʻetrel) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Armenian: փետել (pʻetel) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Bulgarian: оскубвам (oskubvam) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Cherokee: ᎫᏯᎩᎠ (guyagia) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Czech: škubat — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Czech: oškubat — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Dutch: plukken — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Dutch: pluimen — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Finnish: kyniä — to remove feathers from a bird
  • French: plumer — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Galician: depenar — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Galician: depenicar — to remove feathers from a bird
  • German: rupfen — to remove feathers from a bird
  • German: ausrupfen — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Hungarian: megkopaszt — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Ido: desplumizar — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Irish: cluimhrigh — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Italian: spennare — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Italian: spennacchiare — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Italian: spiumare — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Latin: vellō — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Latvian: plūkt — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Macedonian: скубнува (skubnuva) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Macedonian: скубне (skubne) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Māori: huti — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Māori: huhuti — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Māori: hutihuti — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Norwegian: plukke — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Norwegian: ribbe — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Norwegian Bokmål: plukke — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ribbe — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Occitan: esplumassar — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Persian: پر کندن (par kandan) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Polish: skubać — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Polish: oskubać — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Portuguese: depenar — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Romanian: smulge — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Romanian: jumuli — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Romanian: peni — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Romanian: scărmăna — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Russian: ощи́пывать (oščípyvatʹ) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Russian: ощипа́ть (oščipátʹ) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Russian: щипа́ть (ščipátʹ) — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Slovak: šklbať — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Slovene: skubsti — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Slovene: oskubati — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Spanish: desplumar — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Swedish: plocka — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Turkish: yolmak — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Vietnamese: nhổ — to remove feathers from a bird
  • Bulgarian: ограбвам (ograbvam) — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Dutch: kaalplukken — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Dutch: pluimen — to rob, steal forcibly
  • French: voler — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Norwegian: loppe — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Polish: rabować — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Polish: obrabować — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Polish: grabić — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Polish: ograbić — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Portuguese: depenar — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Romanian: jefui — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Romanian: prăda — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Romanian: jecmăni — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Russian: гра́бить (grábitʹ) — to rob, steal forcibly
  • Russian: огра́бить (ográbitʹ) — to rob, steal forcibly
Real reading context

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