plucked

Everyday

1. Plucked means pulled off or picked with the fingers, as in plucked flowers or fruit. tree →
2. Plucked means having had the feathers pulled out, as in a plucked chicken. tree →
3. Plucked means played by pulling and letting go of the strings, as on a guitar or harp. tree →
4. Plucked can mean pulled quickly out of somewhere, as in «plucked from the sea» by a rescuer. tree →
5. If someone plucked up courage, they made themselves brave. tree →

In the lessons

In music lessons, plucked string instruments (guitar, harp, ukulele) are compared with bowed ones (violin, cello). In stories, «plucked up the courage» shows a nervous character being brave. In news, a helicopter crew «plucked» people from a flood. Phrases: «plucked up courage», «plucked from obscurity», «plucked eyebrows», «plucked a string».

Examples

• She plucked an apple from the tree. tree →
• Finally, Tom plucked up the courage to ask for help. tree →
• The harpist plucked the strings gently. tree →
• The farmer plucked the chicken before cooking it. tree →
• A lifeboat crew plucked the fisherman from the waves. tree →
• He plucked a number out of thin air as a guess. tree →
• The guitar's plucked notes echoed round the hall. tree →
• They had plucked out all their feathers. tree →

Note

Regular past form of «pluck». «Pluck» as a noun also means courage (she showed pluck); «plucky» means brave. Do not confuse with «plugged».

In Jewish tradition

Plucked means pulled off or out. In Job and Proverbs, being plucked up means being torn out and removed, like the wicked from the land or a tent-cord pulled loose.

Interpretation. Tradition reads the fresh olive leaf as a sign of hope and also bitterness, a dove bringing peace after the Flood. The wicked being plucked up from the land is read as the end of those who turn from justice.

Examples

• And the dove came in to him at eventide; and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. (Torah GEN.8.11, JPS 1917) tree →
• Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? (Writings JOB.4.21, JPS 1917) tree →
• And I broke the jaws of the unrighteous, and plucked the prey out of his teeth. (Writings JOB.29.17, JPS 1917) tree →
• But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and the faithless shall be plucked up out of it. (Writings PRO.2.22, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Regular past form of «pluck». «Pluck» as a noun also means courage (she showed pluck); «plucky» means brave. Do not confuse with «plugged».