# pick

Pronunciation: US/AUS say "PIK" /pɪk/; UK

## Verb

1. To decide on one option from a set of choices; to select.
   - Simple: To choose one thing from a group of options.
   - _Voters pick their representatives in each election._
   - _He picked the cheapest flight from the list of options._
3. To take up and gather things from various places, bringing them together into a collection.
   - Simple: To gather things one by one from different places.
   - _Volunteers pick litter from the riverbank each weekend._
   - _The children spent the morning picking seashells from every corner of the beach._
4. To gather fruit, vegetables, or whole plants by removing them from the plant or pulling them from the ground.
   - Simple: To take fruit or vegetables off a plant, or pull a plant from the ground.
   - _Workers pick coffee cherries by hand on the steep hillsides._
   - _They picked the last of the pumpkins before the frost arrived._
6. To do something fastidiously or carefully, attending to small details, or to select something with care.
   - Simple: To do something with great care, paying attention to small details, or to choose something carefully.
   - _Hikers pick their way along the narrow ledge, testing every foothold before trusting it._
   - _Knowing the reporters were listening, the senator picked her words with unusual care._
7. To remove, pull off, or separate something using the fingers, the teeth, or a pointed tool.
   - Simple: To take something off or out using your fingers or a small pointed tool.
   - _She picked a splinter out of her finger with a needle._
   - _Birds pick insects from the bark with their beaks._
8. To grasp and pull at something using the fingers or fingernails.
   - Simple: To grab and pull at something with your fingers or nails.
   - _He picked nervously at the label on the bottle._
   - _Anxious patients often pick at their cuticles without noticing._
11. To play a stringed instrument by plucking its individual strings.
   - Simple: To play a guitar or similar instrument by plucking its strings.
   - _Folk guitarists often pick the strings instead of strumming them._
   - _He picked a delicate melody on the mandolin._
12. To open a lock without the original key, using a wire, lock pick, or similar tool.
   - Simple: To open a lock without its key, using a wire or special tool.
   - _She learned to pick simple locks during her training._
   - _Someone picked the padlock and stole the bikes overnight._
14. To deliberately try to start a fight or quarrel when the chance arises.
   - Simple: To try to start a fight or argument with someone.
   - _Drunk customers often pick fights over trivial things._
   - _He picked a quarrel with the referee right after the call._
16. To intercept a pass thrown by the offense while playing on defense. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: In football, to catch a pass thrown by the other team's offense.
   - _The rookie cornerback hopes to pick the quarterback at least once before halftime._
   - _He picked the pass and ran it back for a touchdown._
18. To eat slowly and sparingly, taking only small morsels; to nibble.
   - Simple: To eat only a little, in small bites, without much interest.
   - _The toddler picked at his vegetables, eating almost nothing._
   - _Nervous diners often pick at their plates rather than eat._
19. To steal or pilfer, especially quietly or by stealth.
   - Simple: To steal something, often quietly or in small amounts.
   - _Thieves work the busy square, waiting to pick the pockets of tourists who stop for photos._
   - _In the old story, a hungry boy picks the pocket of a rich merchant._
20. To block a defender by setting a screen, freeing a teammate to move or shoot.
   - Simple: In basketball, to block a defender so a teammate can get free.
   - _Big men often pick for guards to create open jump shots._
   - _He picked for the point guard at the top of the key._
23. In cricket, to recognize the type of delivery a bowler will send by reading the position of the hand and arm at the moment of release.
   - Simple: In cricket, to tell what kind of ball a bowler will throw by watching their hand.
   - _Top batsmen pick the googly straight out of the bowler's hand._
   - _He picked the variation early and played it with ease._

## Noun

2. The act or power of choosing; a choice among options.
   - Simple: The right or chance to choose what you want.
   - _As the winner, she had her pick of the prizes._
   - _Senior employees get first pick of vacation dates each year._
5. The best or most desirable one from a group; the choicest item.
   - Simple: The best one chosen from a whole group.
   - _The young striker is the pick of this year's recruits._
   - _Critics called her debut novel the pick of the season._
9. A heavy hand tool with a pointed metal head on a handle, used for breaking up hard ground or rock.
   - Simple: A heavy tool with a sharp metal head, used for breaking ground or rock.
   - _The workers loosened the rubble with a pick and shovel._
   - _She raised the pick high before driving it into the clay._
10. A small flat tool, usually plastic, used to strum or pluck the strings of a guitar.
   - Simple: A small flat piece of plastic used to play guitar strings.
   - _The guitarist gripped the pick between thumb and finger._
   - _A thinner pick produces a brighter, softer sound._
13. A small tool used to open a lock without using the original key.
   - Simple: A small tool used to open a lock without its key.
   - _The thief slid a pick into the lock and felt for the pins inside._
   - _Locksmiths carry picks of several shapes to open different kinds of locks._
15. A catch made by a defender of a pass thrown by the opposing offense.
   - Simple: In football, a catch by a defender of a pass thrown by the opposing team.
   - _The safety's pick in the third quarter shifted the momentum._
   - _He returned the pick forty yards for a touchdown._
17. In basketball, lacrosse, and similar sports, a legal block in which an offensive player stands so as to obstruct a defender guarding a teammate; a screen.
   - Simple: In team sports, a move where a player stands in a defender's way to free a teammate.
   - _The center set a pick at the top of the key._
   - _Her pick freed the point guard for an easy layup._
21. A wide-toothed comb with long tines, made for lifting and untangling tightly curled hair.
   - Simple: A comb with long teeth set far apart, used for thick curly hair.
   - _A wide-toothed pick works better on coiled hair than a fine comb._
   - _She lifted her afro gently with a pick._

## Verb

22. To peck or strike at something with a beak or pointed instrument; to pierce or prick it. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To poke or strike at something with a beak or a sharp point.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A play in which the pitcher throws to a base to tag out a runner who has strayed too far from it.
- (noun) An impressive defensive play executed by an infielder.
- (noun) Pasture or available grazing; the feed animals find for themselves in a field.
- (noun) A pointed hammer used for dressing millstones: cutting and sharpening the grooves on their grinding surface.
- (noun) A heavy hooked weight dropped from a ship to hold it in place.
- (noun) A spike or sharp point, especially the one fixed in the middle of a small round shield.
- (noun) A fleck of dried ink or paper that clogs the recessed part of a piece of type and prints as a blot.
- (noun) A small touch of paint added with a fine point to fix an uneven spot in a picture.
- (noun) In weaving, one stroke sending the shuttle across, used to measure loom speed, or a single crosswise thread when rating how fine cloth is.
- (verb) To throw or fling something.

## Origin

From Middle English piken, from Old English forms such as pīcan and pȳcan ("to pick, prick, pluck"), going back through Proto-Germanic, possibly to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to make a dull, hollow sound. It is a doublet of pitch and peck, and is cognate with Dutch pikken and German picken ("to pick, peck").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pick (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).