plucky

plucky — adjective

1. brave and still willing to fight on when a situation is hard or scary

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

brave and still willing to fight on when a situation is hard or scary

Example

The plucky nurse stayed calm while smoke filled the hospital hall.

plucky in a dangerous situation

After the storm, the plucky cafe owner served coffee by candlelight.

before noun: plucky cafe owner

Common collocations
  • plucky youngster
  • plucky team
  • plucky effort
  • plucky comeback
  • plucky heroine
Synonyms
  • brave

    the broad everyday word for courage; less vivid than 'plucky'

  • gutsy

    more informal and stronger; often used for bold risk-taking

  • determined

    stresses not giving up, even when courage is not the main idea

  • spirited

    can suggest energy and life as well as courage

Antonyms
  • timid

    showing little confidence or courage

  • cowardly

    showing a lack of courage in a stronger, more negative way

  • defeated

    suggesting that a person has lost hope rather than kept fighting

Grammar Patterns

a plucky young player

be plucky enough to keep going

a plucky effort/comeback/team

Usage Note

Often describes someone or something that seems smaller, weaker, younger, or less likely to win, but keeps showing spirit anyway. It sounds warmer and more vivid than the neutral word 'brave'.

Common Mistakes

The girl did a plucky to speak up.
The girl was plucky enough to speak up.' / 'It was a plucky thing to do.
'plucky' is an adjective, so it needs a linking verb or a noun phrase.
Our team was plucky and won easily.
Our team was plucky but still lost 2-1.
'plucky' often suggests courage despite being at a disadvantage, not easy success.

Word family

  • pluck
    verbB2
  • pluck
    nounC2
  • pluckily
    adverbC2
  • pluckiness
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Plucky' is close to 'brave', but it sounds warmer and more vivid. It often suggests courage in someone smaller, weaker, younger, or less likely to win, such as a child, an underdog team, or a patient in recovery. 'Brave' is the broad everyday word and fits almost any situation involving courage. 'Gutsy' is more informal and stronger, often used for bold actions that carry real risk. 'Determined' focuses on refusing to give up, so a determined person may not seem especially brave. 'Spirited' can suggest lively energy as much as courage. A child may be plucky after an operation, a firefighter brave in a rescue, a reporter gutsy with a hard question, and a runner determined to finish.

plucky ↗brave ↗gutsydetermined ↗spirited

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • remarkably plucky
  • surprisingly plucky
  • incredibly plucky

Phrases

  • a plucky little team
  • a plucky effort
  • be plucky enough to keep going

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

This adjective appeared in English in the 1800s from the noun 'pluck' in its older sense of 'courage', plus the adjective ending '-y'. That courage sense grew out of an earlier meaning of 'pluck' connected with the heart and inner organs taken from an animal, and behind that was the verb 'pluck', meaning 'pull out'. Over time, English speakers used 'pluck' figuratively for fighting spirit, and 'plucky' developed from that idea.