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PlainSpell

pluck

/plʌk/verb, noun

pluck is spelled P-L-U-C-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, pluck means “To pull something sharply; to pull something out” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in pluck?

Letters5: P-L-U-C-K
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is pluck?

Pluck appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce pluck?

  • /plʌk/
  • /plʊk/

Pluck has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pluck.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of pluck

  • plucks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • plucking participle, present
  • plucked participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does pluck mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To pull something sharply; to pull something out

    She plucked the phone from her bag and dialled.

  2. 2

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

    First of all, he says a lot of the promotions from the ranks are promotions of the sons of officers who have gone wrong , or got "plucked," or what not, and who are brought up again along another road for commissioned rank.

  3. 3

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

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

  4. 4

    To remove feathers from (a bird).

  5. 5

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

  6. 6

    To play a string instrument pizzicato.

    Plucking a bow instrument may cause a string to break.

  7. 7

    To pull or twitch sharply.

    to pluck at somebody's sleeve

  8. 8

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

noun

  1. 1

    An instance of plucking or pulling sharply.

    Those tiny birds are hardly worth the tedious pluck.

  2. 2

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

  3. 3

    informalGuts, nerve, fortitude or persistence.

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

  4. 4

    slangCheap wine.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate pluck?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of pluck: PL.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Pluck in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchtirer (to pull something sharply; to pull something out), pincer (music: to play a single string by pulling and…), plumer (to remove feathers from a bird), voler (to rob, steal forcibly), abats (offal from the trunk of an animal), persévérance (nerve, fortitude, persistence)
Germanpflücken, abrupfen (to pull something sharply; to pull something out), zupfen, schlagen (music: to play a single string by pulling and…), rupfen, ausrupfen (to remove feathers from a bird)
Portuguesearrancar (to pull something sharply; to pull something out), tocar, palhetar, ferir (music: to play a single string by pulling and…), depenar (to remove feathers from a bird), depenagem (instance of plucking)
Spanishherir (music: to play a single string by pulling and…), desplumar (to remove feathers from a bird), perseverancia (nerve, fortitude, persistence)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does pluck come from?

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”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after pluck