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."
separable
pluck up
B1 informal separable transitive
To gather the courage or nerve to do something frightening or difficult
In plain English
To make yourself brave enough to do something scary
What does "pluck up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
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."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To pluck something upward, as in picking fruit
Actually means
To make yourself brave enough to do something scary
Usage tip
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.
Words that pair with "pluck up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
courage nerve confidence bravery
How to conjugate "pluck up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
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
Hear "pluck up" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "pluck up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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