pluck

pluck1 [ plʌk ] verb *

1. ) transitive to pull the feathers off the body of a dead bird so that it can be cooked:

a plucked chicken

a ) MAINLY LITERARY to pull a piece of fruit from a tree, or a flower or leaf from a plant: PICK

b ) to pull a hair from your face, head, or body using your nails or a pair of TWEEZERS:

I plucked a gray hair from my head.

c ) pluck your eyebrows to pull hairs out from around the edges of your EYEBROWS in order to make them look thinner and neater

2. ) intransitive or transitive to pull the strings of a musical instrument with your fingers in order to produce a sound

3. ) transitive to pick up something quickly with your fingers

4. ) transitive to take someone quickly from a particular place or situation:

Ships in the area plucked 45 people from the water.

pluck someone to safety: Rescue crews plucked them to safety.

a ) pluck someone from obscurity to give a person who is not well known an important job or position so that they suddenly become famous

pluck something out of/from the air

to say the first number, date, fact, etc. that you think of without considering whether it is likely to be correct

pluck up (the) courage (to do something)

to persuade yourself to do something that frightens you

`pluck at phrasal verb transitive

pluck at something to pull something gently and quickly several times

pluck

pluck 2 [ plʌk ] noun uncount

the quality of being brave and determined: GRIT, GUTS