to pluck the string
1
3.9
- phrasal verb
- The player plucks the string with the right hand to produce a note while pressing the string with the left hand to make a vibration.
Examples
-
He learned to pluck the string of the harp to play beautiful tunes for his friends.
-
The woman watched him with cool gray eyes, but her fingers plucked the strings automatically, as if controlled by a will other than her own.
Fiction book (1990) -
He plucked the strings and retuned.
Fiction book (1997) -
A system of dots and dashes underneath the letters indicated which right-hand finger plucked the string.
Academic text (2011) -
He was there, plucking the strings of his guitar aimlessly, it seemed, with his long thin fingers, and he seemed to be spaced out on something.
Fiction book (1998) -
Tamez then came in with the piano, while Sanchez plucked the strings on his guitar, creating a somber or gloomy air, as if someone was sad or sighing, perhaps even yawning.
Blog text (30) -
The musician gently plucks the string of her guitar to create a soft melody.
-
As she played, she plucked the strings of the violin, filling the room with music.
Synonyms
12
3.2
To pluck instrument strings with fingers or a small tool
3
6.1
To pull lightly and repeatedly at something with your fingers
1
7.3
To make a short high sound by hitting small hard things
1
6.7
To pull a string lightly to make a short musical note
1
9.9
Playing an instrument like a guitar or banjo by plucking strings
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'pluck' (to pull or pick sharply by hand) with 'string' (a taut cord on an instrument), so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it means to pull a musical string to produce sound. This is a literal, compositional verb + object phrase and is cross-linguistically common, making it immediately understandable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Pluck the string comes from how musicians use a finger to pull and release one string, making a quick sound called a pluck. That's why it means 'to gently pull and release a string to make a sound'.