1. To grasp something with one's fingers or a grasping instrument and pull or tug it forcibly and abruptly off, out of, or away from something else. A noun or pronoun is used between "pluck" and "from." He reached over and plucked the badge from her jacket. I sat plucking cactus spines from my foot with tweezers.

2. To remove someone from some undesirable state or place in order to elevate them to a better position or status. A noun or pronoun is used between "pluck" and "from." The famous director plucked the young woman from obscurity and made her a worldwide star almost overnight. The child barely had enough to eat each day until he was plucked from the streets by a wealthy benefactor.