pluck

1 verb

1 TAKE STH (T) to take hold of something and remove it from somewhere by pulling it: pluck sth from/off etc: She bent forward to pluck a thread off the lapel of his jacket.

2 pluck up (the) courage to force yourself to be brave and do something you are afraid of doing: He finally plucked up enough courage to ask her out on a date.

3 CHICKEN ETC (T) to pull the feathers off a dead chicken or other bird before cooking it

4 FLOWER literary to pick a flower or fruit: Eve plucked an apple and offered it to Adam.

5 MUSIC (I, T) to pull sharply at the strings of a musical instrument

(+ at): Someone was plucking at the strings of an old guitar.

6 TAKE SB AWAY (transitive always + adv/prep) to take someone away from a place or situation: pluck sb from/off/away etc: She was plucked from obscurity by a film producer.

7 pluck sth out of the air to say or suggest a number, name etc that you have just thought of without thinking about it carefully: I'm just plucking a figure out of the air here, but let's say it'll cost about $15,000.

8 pluck your eyebrows to pull out hairs from the edges of your eyebrows

pluck at sth phrasal verb (T) to pull something quickly and repeatedly with your fingers: The little boy plucked at her sleeve. | Sally was staring into space, plucking nervously at her pearl choker. 2 noun (U) old-fashioned courage and determination: I really admire him for cycling to Paris on his own - it must have taken a lot of pluck.