pluck

For several weeks each year, ethnic Tibetans in this village pluck matsutake mushrooms, a flavorful fungus that is believed to boast medicinal properties—and can make fortunes in this less-developed corner of China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Ample low-hanging reform fruit is available for any politician who wants to pluck it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

But don’t let the relatable career-girl pluck of the movie dilute the fact that this song is pissed off about capitalism, even as its hooks make the grind of working life more bearable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

On a Wednesday in February in the Coachella Valley, more than two dozen farmworkers weaved up and down rows of strawberries, their gloved hands flicking quickly to pluck the fruit and stash it in boxes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

Nguyen’s father told her to kill, pluck, and cook one of their chickens, so everyone could have rice and a little meat.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

He frequently plucks from his tremendous word hoard gems that will send you to the dictionary: bonxie, fankle, rupestral, stramash, zawn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

And it plucks a nerve in a country still scarred by its history of militarism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

He plucks each stake from the ground, knowing that while these flower decorations might feel insignificant amid the devastation, they also might make her smile.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2025

At this point, Sparks plucks each of the rooted slips off the sweet potato and plants them about a foot apart from one another in dirt that’s at least a foot deep.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2024

He finds them, and Volkheimer plucks them out.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

She was on Netflix’s “Funny AF” with Kevin Hart and was plucked to open for Chelsea Handler.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

As the smoke from France's worst wildfire in over 75 years rose over the Bassin d'Arcachon, a pair of nearby firefighters tucked into a plate of oysters plucked from the bay west of Bordeaux.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Ms. Salvant’s 2023 release, “Mélusine,” included songs that dated back to the 12th century, sung in four languages, and made prominent use of the theorbo, the plucked lute used for Baroque basso continuo accompaniment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

By 2023, he "plucked up the courage" to go along to an open mic night event in Cardiff and read some of his poems.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

He stuck his tongue out and plucked at his rubakha.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

As the waves bashed the coast this week, boulders smashed into the piles of Mitchell Leib’s Malibu home, plucking them like a “guitar string” and shaking his house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The finding may explain why we can build upon skills, like going from plucking single notes on a guitar to shredding rock riffs, or from dribbling a ball to making cross-court plays.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Scotland's third try was the pick of the bunch, with replacement Scott plucking Meryl Smith's pinpoint kick from the air and effortlessly stepping Kayleigh Powell to put daylight between the scores.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

It bursts with insights that mix journalistic acumen with gossip, backed by a score generously seasoned with mischievous violin string plucking.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026

There was indeed little speech, and they ate and drank for the most part in silence, until at last, plucking up courage, Merry asked the question that was tormenting him.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien