plucked; plucking; plucks
1
: to pull or pick off or out
2
3
: to move, remove, or separate forcibly or abruptly
plucked the child from the middle of the street
4
a
: to pick, pull, or grasp at
b
: to play by sounding the strings with the fingers or a pick
: to make a sharp pull or twitch
plucker
noun
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
Synonyms
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
Victoria Knight, Axios, 18 Nov. 2024
The mbira—a wooden board over which iron keys of varying lengths are affixed and plucked to create a metallic sound—is an old instrument found throughout much of Africa and the Americas.
—Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
The movie is full of humor and pluck, but nothing emotionally gut-wrenching.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 15 Aug. 2018
See all Example Sentences for pluck 
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Verb
Some congressional staffers could also be plucked to work in the new administration at HHS or the White House.
—Victoria Knight, Axios, 18 Nov. 2024
The mbira—a wooden board over which iron keys of varying lengths are affixed and plucked to create a metallic sound—is an old instrument found throughout much of Africa and the Americas.
—Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
The opening acoustic guitar plucks get plenty of low and low-mid resonance, while strong treble response gives a clear, crisp string texture.
—PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
The movie is full of humor and pluck, but nothing emotionally gut-wrenching.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 15 Aug. 2018
See all Example Sentences for pluck
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Dictionary Entries Near pluck
Cite this Entry
“Pluck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pluck. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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