If someone plucks a figure from the air, they say it without considering it carefully or using correct information. There seems little point in trying to keep statistics when figures are plucked from the air in order to support any given claim. Note: You can also say that someone plucks a figure out of the air or plucks a figure out of thin air. So few buildings are coming to market that accurate valuations are becoming almost impossible to make. Numbers are simply being plucked out of the air. The figure of 40% was not plucked out of thin air. Note: Verbs such as pull or pick can be used instead of pluck. She pulled a figure out of the air, an amount she thought would cover several months' rent on an office.