choose Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
    pick out; select; take.
    • Take any one of these cards
    • Choose a good husband for your daughter
    • She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her
  2. verb select as an alternative over another
    opt; prefer.
    • I always choose the fish over the meat courses in this restaurant
    • She opted for the job on the East coast
  3. verb see fit or proper to act in a certain way; decide to act in a certain way
    • She chose not to attend classes and now she failed the exam

WordNet

Choose transitive verb
Etymology
OE. chesen, cheosen, AS. ceósan; akin to OS. kiosan, D. kiezen, G. kiesen, Icel. kjosa, Goth. kiusan, L. gustare to taste, Gr. , Skr. jush to enjoy. *46. Cf. Choice, 2d Gust.
Wordforms
imperfect Chose ; past participle Chosen Chose (obsolete ); present participle & verbal noun Choosing
Definitions
  1. To make choice of; to select; to take by way of preference from two or more objects offered; to elect; as, to choose the least of two evils.
    Choose me for a humble friend. Pope.
  2. To wish; to desire; to prefer. Colloq.
    The landlady now returned to know if we did not choose a more genteel apartment. Goldsmith.
    Syn. - To select; prefer; elect; adopt; follow. -- To Choose, Prefer, Elect. To choose is the generic term, and denotes to take or fix upon by an act of the will, especially in accordance with a decision of the judgment. To prefer is to choose or favor one thing as compared with, and more desirable than, another, or more in accordance with one's tastes and feelings. To elect is to choose or select for some office, employment, use, privilege, etc., especially by the concurrent vote or voice of a sufficient number of electors. To choose a profession; to prefer private life to a public one; to elect members of Congress.
Choose intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To make a selection; to decide.
    They had only to choose between implicit obedience and open rebellion. Prescott.
  2. To do otherwise. "Can I choose but smile?" Pope.
    Thou canst not choose but know who I am. Shak.

Webster 1913