pluck

View more Literature & Language videos

Butchers' term for heart, liver, and lungs of an animal.

verb

To remove from a fixed position: extract, pull, tear¹. See put in/take out.

noun

The quality of mind enabling one to face danger or hardship resolutely: braveness, bravery, courage, courageousness, dauntlessness, doughtiness, fearlessness, fortitude, gallantry, gameness, heart, intrepidity, intrepidness, mettle, nerve, pluckiness, spirit, stoutheartedness, undauntedness, valiance, valiancy, valiantness, valor. Informal spunk, spunkiness. Slang gut (used in plural), gutsiness, moxie. See fear/courage.

n

Definition: person's resolution, courage
Antonyms: cowardice, dispiritedness, irresolution

v

Definition: grab, pull out; pick at
Antonyms: insert

1. pluck
   verb, dated, euphemistic
   
   to pluck a rose Of a woman: to go to the lavatory; to urinate or defecate. (1613 —) .
   
2. pluck
   noun, US, African-American
   
   Wine. (1904 —) .
   Black World We was gittin away from the broke pluck bottles (1973).
   
   [From earlier sense, courage (cf. Dutch courage alcohol-fuelled courage).]

Previous:	ploughed, plough, plotzed
Next:	plug, plug-ugly, plum-pudding

1. an abattoir term for the thoracic viscera plus the liver, after separation from the esophagus and the diaphragm. Includes the larynx, trachea, lungs, heart and liver, plus the spleen in sheep.
2. removal of the feathers from birds during the preparation of the carcass for meat. Scalding for 2 minutes in water plus detergent at 134°F is a great aid.
3. removal of wool from the carcass of a sheep dead long enough for the wool to become loose.

For a list of words related to plucking, see:

• Processes, Phenomena, Events, and Techniques - plucking: erosion caused by glacier pulling rocks out of earth as it moves along surface

---

See words rhyming with "pluck."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Pluck.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - rive, trække, plukke
v. intr. - bevæge sig med et ryk
n. - ryk, anslag, mod, energi

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    blive taget fra de ukendtes rækker
• be plucked to safety    blive hevet i sikkerhed
• pluck one's eyebrows    plukke sine øjenbryn
• pluck out of the air    tage ud af den blå luft
• pluck up courage    tage mod til sig

Nederlands (Dutch)
(af)plukken, tokkelen, beroven, (ont)trekken, rukken, moed, ruk, hart, lever, longen, en hals van een geslacht dier

Français (French)
v. tr. - cueillir, arracher, (Culin) plumer, (Mus) pincer (cordes), pincer les cordes de (guitare)
v. intr. - arracher, tirer d'un coup sec
n. - courage, cran (fam), (Culin) fressure

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    être sorti de l'anonymat
• be plucked to safety    être mis en sûreté
• pluck one's eyebrows    s'épiler les sourcils
• pluck out of the air    venir naturellement
• pluck up courage    prendre son courage à deux mains

Deutsch (German)
v. - zupfen, pflücken
n. - Mut, Schneid, Innereien

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    aus dem Nichts kommend schnell berühmt werden
• be plucked to safety    aus einer gefährlichen Situation gerettet werden
• pluck one's eyebrows    sich die Augenbrauen auszupfen
• pluck out of the air    aus der Luft greifen
• pluck up courage    sich ein Herz fassen, all seinen Mut zusammennehmen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - αποσπώ, αποτραβώ, ξεπουπουλιάζω, μαδώ, (μουσ.) αρπίζω, κόβω, μαζεύω (λουλούδια, φρούτα)
n. - ξεπουπούλιασμα, μάδημα, απόσπαση, αποτράβηγμα, απότομο τράβηγμα, θάρρος, τσαγανό

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    βγαίνω από την αφάνεια
• be plucked to safety    με απομακρύνουν από κίνδυνο
• pluck one's eyebrows    ξεριζώνω τα φρύδια μου
• pluck out of the air    κατεβάζω από το κεφάλι μου
• pluck up courage    επιστρατεύω το θάρρος μου

Italiano (Italian)
spennare, pizzicare, cogliere, tirare, coraggio

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    essere strappato dall'oscurità
• be plucked to safety    essere messo in salvo
• pluck one's eyebrows    depilare le sopracciglia
• pluck out of the air    senza alcuno sforzo
• pluck up (courage)    raccogliere (il coraggio)

Português (Portuguese)
v. - arrancar, puxar, depenar, colher, roubar, reprovar em exame
n. - puxão (m), coragem (f), reprovação em exame

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    ser arrancado da obscuridade
• be plucked to safety    ser puxado para lugar seguro
• pluck one's eyebrows    tirar as sobrancelhas
• pluck out of the air    pegar no ar
• pluck up (courage)    criar coragem

Русский (Russian)
щипать, собирать, срывать, дергать, перебирать струны, мужество

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    приобрести известность
• be plucked to safety    быть неожиданно спасен от угрозы
• pluck one's eyebrows    выщипывать брови
• pluck out of the air    выдумать, взять откуда то
• pluck up (courage)    собираться с духом

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - puntear, pulsar, rasguear, coger, robar, estafar, arrancar, tirar, desplumar
v. intr. - tirar de
n. - valor, ánimo

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    saltar a la fama
• be plucked to safety    ser trasladado a un lugar seguro
• pluck one's eyebrows    depilarse las cejas
• pluck out of the air    sacar de la nada
• pluck up courage    armarse de valor

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - plocka, rycka, dra, skinna, klå, knäppa (på strängar), kugga (sl.)
n. - ryck, knäppning, mod, käckhet

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
摘, 拔, 猛拉, 拉, 拽, 勇气, 动物内脏

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    使人从默默无闻的地位上被提升
• be plucked to safety    把...从危境中拖出
• pluck one's eyebrows    拔眉毛, 修眉毛
• pluck out of the air    喻突然想到
• pluck up courage    鼓起勇气

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 摘, 拔, 猛拉
v. intr. - 拉, 拽
n. - 勇氣, 動物內臟, 猛拉

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    使人從默默無聞的地位上被提升
• be plucked to safety    把...從危境中拖出
• pluck one's eyebrows    拔眉毛, 修眉毛
• pluck out of the air    喻突然想到
• pluck up courage    鼓起勇氣

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - (현악기를)뜯다, 잡아당기다
v. intr. - 확 당기다, 잡으려 하다
n. - 잡아뜯음, 용기, 낙제

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    (일 등에서) 중요하다고 알려지지 않은 사람이 갑자기 유명해지다
• be plucked to safety    위험에서 구조된

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 引き抜く, 摘む, 引っ張る, かき鳴らす, 捕えようとする, 楽器をかき鳴らす
n. - 引きむしること, 引くこと, 胆力, 臓物

idioms:

• be plucked from obscurity    無名から身を起こしてを有名になった
• pluck one's eyebrows    眉をあげる
• pluck out of the air    考えなどが突然頭にひらめく
• pluck up (courage)    勇気を出す
• pluck up courage    勇気を奮い起こす

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يقطف, ينتف, يقلع, يسلب, ينهب (الاسم) معلاق الذبيحه, جرأة, شجاعه, إقدام‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮מרט, תלש, קטף, משך, פרט על מיתרים, הכשיל, פסל, רימה‬
v. intr. - ‮משך‬
n. - ‮אומץ, תעוזה, משיכה, חלקי-בהמה (ריאות לב), כבד‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.