pluck up
B1 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To make yourself brave enough to do something scary
Literal meaning: To pluck something upward, as in picking fruit
Meanings
1 B1
idiomatic
informal
To succeed in making yourself brave or confident enough to do something you find difficult or frightening
"He finally plucked up the courage to ask his manager for a pay rise."
Grammar: separable
2 C1 formal
(dated/literary) To pull or lift something upward by its roots or base
"The gardener plucked up the weeds that had grown between the paving stones."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Almost always used in the fixed collocation 'pluck up the courage (to do something)'. Using it with other objects is unusual. Common in British English. The phrase suggests that courage must be gathered like fruit — it requires a deliberate act.
Commonly used with
courage nerve confidence bravery
Forms
Base
pluck up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
plucks up
he/she/it
Past simple
plucked up
yesterday
Past participle
plucked up
have + pp
-ing form
plucking up
continuous
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