pick
[verb]
Synonyms:
- select, choose, decide upon, elect, fix upon, hand-pick, opt for, settle upon, single out
- gather, collect, harvest, pluck, pull
- nibble, have no appetite, peck at, play or toy with, push the food round the plate
- provoke, incite, instigate, start
- open, break into, break open, crack, force
[noun]
Synonyms:
- choice, decision, option, preference, selection
- the best, crème de la crème, elect, elite, the cream

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Antonyms: reject
Related Idioms: pick and choose

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English Thesaurus: choose, pick, select, opt for/go for, decide on, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. pick¹ S1 W1 /pɪk/ verb [transitive]
[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Partly from unrecorded Old English pician; partly from Old French piquer 'to prick']

1. CHOOSE SOMETHING to choose a person or thing, for example because they are the best or most suitable:
Students have to pick three courses from a list of 15.
I don’t know which colour to pick.
Who’s going to pick the team for the match on Saturday?
pick somebody/something for something
I wasn’t picked for the hockey team.
pick somebody/something as something
The hotel was picked as the best small hotel in the area.
pick somebody to do something
He was picked to run in the 100 metres.
Russell spoke slowly, picking his words (=choosing what to say) very carefully. ⇒ picked

2. FLOWERS/FRUIT ETC to remove a flower, fruit, nut etc from a plant or tree:
We picked some blackberries to eat on the way.
Amy picked a small bunch of wild flowers.
a dish of freshly picked peas

3. REMOVE SOMETHING [always + adverb/preposition] to remove something carefully from a place, especially something small
pick something from something
Ahmed picked the melon pips from his teeth.
pick something off (something)
She was nervously picking bits of fluff off her sweater.
pick something out of something
The goalkeeper spent a lot of his time picking the ball out of the back of the net.

4. pick your way through/across/among etc something to walk in a slow careful way, choosing exactly where to put your feet down:
She picked her way between the puddles.
He picked his way down the narrow staircase.

5. pick your nose to remove mucus from your nose with your finger:
Don’t pick your nose!

6. pick your teeth to remove bits of food from between your teeth with your finger or a small pointed object

7. pick sb’s brains to ask someone who knows a lot about something for information and advice about it:
Have you got a minute? I need to pick your brains.

8. pick a quarrel/fight (with somebody) to deliberately start a quarrel or fight with someone:
I could see he was trying to pick a fight with me.

9. pick and choose to choose only the best people or things, or only the ones that you really like:
Come on, you haven’t got time to pick and choose.

10. pick a lock to use something that is not a key to unlock a door, drawer etc:
It’s quite easy to pick the lock on a car door.

11. pick a hole in something to make a hole in something by pulling it with your fingers:
He had picked a hole in his jumper.

12. pick holes in something informal to criticize an idea or a plan by saying what its weak points are:
It’s easy to pick holes in her argument.

13. pick something clean to remove all the meat from a bone when you are eating

14. pick sb’s pocket to quietly steal something from someone’s pocket ⇒ pickpocket

15. pick a winner informal to choose someone or something very good

16. pick something to pieces informal to criticize something very severely and in a very detailed way:
I’m fed up with having my work picked to pieces.

17. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT American English to play a musical instrument by pulling at its strings with your fingers Synonym : pluck
⇒ have a bone to pick with somebody at bone¹(10)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. pick² noun
[Sense 1-3: Date: 1500-1600; Origin: ⇒ pick¹]
[Sense 4-5: Date: 1300-1400; Origin: pike]

1. [uncountable] if you can have your pick or take your pick of different things, you can choose which one you want:
Have a look at the menu and take your pick.
He knew he could take his pick of any of the girls in the office.
Sarah could have her pick of any university in the country.
have/get first pick (of something)
She always gets first pick of the videos.

2. the pick of something informal the best things in a group:
In tonight’s programme we’ll be discussing the pick of this month’s new movies.
There were fifteen candidates for the job, and he was the pick of the bunch (=the best one).

3. [countable] informal your pick is the person or thing that you have chosen from a group Synonym : choice:
There are a lot of good horses in the race, but Archimedes would be my pick.

4. [countable] a pickaxe

5. [countable] informal a small flat object that you use for pulling at the strings of a musical instrument such as a guitar Synonym : plectrum
⇒ ice pick

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

pick
noun
VERB + PICK have She had her pick of the single men.
take Which do you want? Take your pick.
PHRASES get/take first pick I got the first pick of the prizes because I was the oldest.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pick
verb
I. choose sb/sth
ADV. at random Names were picked at random out of a hat.
out He was picked out as the best player.
PREP. as They picked Jane as the captain.
for Have you been picked for the team?

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pick
II. take sth from the place where it is growing
PHRASES freshly picked freshly picked strawberries
PHRASAL VERBS pick sth up
ADV. carefully, gingerly Rather gingerly, George picked up the tiny bundle.
idly I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it.
VERB + PICK try to | bend to, stoop to
PREP. by He picked the pan up carefully by the handle.
from, off She stooped to pick the book up off the floor.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

choose to decide which one of several things you want:
I chose a black dress.
Which dessert should I choose?
pick to choose something, especially without thinking carefully. Pick is more informal than choose:
Pick any number from one to ten.
select formal to choose something, especially after thinking carefully:
The committee will meet to select a new chairman.
All our instructors are carefully selected.
opt for/go for to choose one thing instead of another:
Many car buyers opt for used vehicles.
I think I’ll go for the chocolate cake.
decide on to choose something from many possible things, especially when the decision has been difficult or taken a long time:
Thomas had decided on a career as a writer.
single out to choose one person or thing from a group because they are better, worse, more important etc than the others:
Why should he be singled out for special treatment?
One student was singled out for special attention.
take your pick especially spoken to choose anything you want, especially when there are many different things available:
You can take your pick from Bodrum’s many bars and restaurants.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

pick
̈ɪpɪk
See: bone to pick or crow to pick

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲