pick Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the person or thing chosen or selected
    selection; choice.
    • he was my pick for mayor
  2. noun the quantity of a crop that is harvested
    picking.
    • he sent the first picking of berries to the market
    • it was the biggest peach pick in years
  3. noun the best people or things in a group
    cream.
    • the cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War
  4. noun the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving
    woof; weft; filling.
  5. noun a small thin device (of metal or plastic or ivory) used to pluck a stringed instrument
    plectrum; plectron.
  6. noun a thin sharp implement used for removing unwanted material
    • he used a pick to clean the dirt out of the cracks
  7. noun a heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends
    pickaxe; pickax.
    • they used picks and sledges to break the rocks
  8. noun a basketball maneuver; obstructing an opponent with one's body
    • he was called for setting an illegal pick
  9. noun the act of choosing or selecting
    selection; option; choice.
    • your choice of colors was unfortunate
    • you can take your pick
  10. verb select carefully from a group
    • She finally picked her successor
    • He picked his way carefully
  11. verb look for and gather
    cull; pluck.
    • pick mushrooms
    • pick flowers
  12. verb harass with constant criticism
    blame; find fault.
    • Don't always pick on your little brother
  13. verb provoke
    • pick a fight or a quarrel
  14. verb remove in small bits
    • pick meat from a bone
  15. verb remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits
    clean.
    • Clean the turkey
  16. verb pilfer or rob
    • pick pockets
  17. verb pay for something
    foot.
    • pick up the tab
    • pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages
    • foot the bill
  18. verb pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion
    plunk; pluck.
    • he plucked the strings of his mandolin
  19. verb attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example
    break up.
    • Pick open the ice
  20. verb hit lightly with a picking motion
    beak; peck.
  21. verb eat intermittently; take small bites of
    piece; nibble.
    • He pieced at the sandwich all morning
    • She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles

WordNet

Pick transitive verb
Etymology
OE. picken, pikken, to prick, peck; akin to Icel. pikka, Sw. picka, Dan. pikke, D. pikken, G. picken, F. piquer, W. pigo. Cf. Peck, v., Pike, Pitch to throw.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Picked ; present participle & verbal noun Picking
Definitions
  1. To throw; to pitch. Obs.
    As high as I could pick my lance. Shak.
  2. To peck at, as a bird with its beak; to strike at with anything pointed; to act upon with a pointed instrument; to pierce; to prick, as with a pin.
  3. To separate or open by means of a sharp point or points; as, to pick matted wool, cotton, oakum, etc.
  4. To open (a lock) as by a wire.
  5. To pull apart or away, especially with the fingers; to pluck; to gather, as fruit from a tree, flowers from the stalk, feathers from a fowl, etc.
  6. To remove something from with a pointed instrument, with the fingers, or with the teeth; as, to pick the teeth; to pick a bone; to pick a goose; to pick a pocket.
    Did you pick Master Slender's purse? Shak.
    He picks clean teeth, and, busy as he seems With an old tavern quill, is hungry yet. Cowper.
  7. To choose; to select; to separate as choice or desirable; to cull; as, to pick one's company; to pick one's way; -- often with out. "One man picked out of ten thousand." Shak.
  8. To take up; esp., to gather from here and there; to collect; to bring together; as, to pick rags; -- often with up; as, to pick up a ball or stones; to pick up information.
  9. To trim. Obs. Chaucer.
Pick intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To eat slowly, sparingly, or by morsels; to nibble. = to pick at
    Why stand'st thou picking? Is thy palate sore? Dryden.
  2. To do anything nicely or carefully, or by attending to small things; to select something with care.
  3. To steal; to pilfer. "To keep my hands from picking and stealing." Book of Com. Prayer.
Pick noun
Etymology
F. pic a pickax, a pick. See Pick, and cf. Pike.
Definitions
  1. A sharp-pointed tool for picking; -- often used in composition; as, a toothpick; a picklock.
  2. (Mining & Mech.) A heavy iron tool, curved and sometimes pointed at both ends, wielded by means of a wooden handle inserted in the middle, -- used by quarrymen, roadmakers, etc.; also, a pointed hammer used for dressing millstones. used for digging
  3. A pike or spike; the sharp point fixed in the center of a buckler. Obs. "Take down my buckler . . . and grind the pick on 't." Beau. & Fl.
  4. Choice; right of selection; as, to have one's pick.
    France and Russia have the pick of our stables. Ld. Lytton.
  5. That which would be picked or chosen first; the best; as, the pick of the flock.
  6. (Print.) A particle of ink or paper imbedded in the hollow of a letter, filling up its face, and occasioning a spot on a printed sheet. MacKellar.
  7. (Painting) That which is picked in, as with a pointed pencil, to correct an unevenness in a picture.
  8. (Weawing) The blow which drives the shuttle, -- the rate of speed of a loom being reckoned as so many picks per minute; hence, in describing the fineness of a fabric, a weft thread; as, so many picks to an inch.

Webster 1913