choice
Americannoun
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an act or instance of choosing; selection.
Her choice of a computer was made after months of research. His parents were not happy with his choice of friends.
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the right, power, or opportunity to choose; option.
The child had no choice about going to school.
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the person or thing chosen or eligible to be chosen.
This book is my choice.
He is one of many choices for the award.
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an alternative.
There is another choice.
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an abundance or variety from which to choose.
a wide choice of candidates.
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something that is preferred or preferable to others; the best part of something.
Mare's Nest is the choice in the sixth race.
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a carefully selected supply.
This restaurant has a fine choice of wines.
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a choice grade of beef.
adjective
idioms
noun
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the act or an instance of choosing or selecting
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the opportunity or power of choosing
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a person or thing chosen or that may be chosen
he was a possible choice
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an alternative action or possibility
what choice did I have?
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a supply from which to select
a poor choice of shoes
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preferred; favourite
adjective
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of superior quality; excellent
choice wine
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carefully chosen, appropriate
a few choice words will do the trick
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vulgar or rude
choice language
Usage
What is a basic definition of choice? A choice is an act of choosing something from multiple options or is one of the options you can choose from. Choice also describes something as being carefully selected. Choice has several other senses as a noun and an adjective.When a person makes a choice, they consider different options and select one of them. For example, you might look at different colors of paint for your bedroom and decide that you want red paint. Your choice of paint was red. When making a choice, the options can be physical things, like food to eat, or nonphysical things, like which direction to drive or what to name a baby. Choice comes from the verb choose, which means to select something from different options.
- Real-life examples: Life is full of choices, ranging from what to eat for breakfast to what kind of job you want to have. Sadly, many people regret the choices they have made in life. We often face really tough choices where we don’t want to pick any of the options available.
- Used in a sentence: She was really happy with her choice of becoming a Hollywood actress.
- Used in a sentence: I’m pretty sure going into the woods at night was the wrong choice.
- Used in a sentence: We narrowed down the menu to a few choice dishes.
Related Words
Choice, alternative, option, preference all suggest the power of choosing between things. Choice implies the opportunity to choose: a choice of evils. Alternative suggests that one has a choice between only two possibilities. It is often used with a negative to mean that there is no second possibility: to have no alternative. Option emphasizes free right or privilege of choosing: to exercise one's option. Preference applies to a choice based on liking or partiality: to state a preference. See fine 1.
Other Word Forms
- choiceless adjective
- choicely adverb
- choiceness noun
- prechoice noun
Etymology
Origin of choice
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English chois, from Old French, derived from choisir “to perceive, choose,” from Germanic; choose
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Will they just pay the bill, as Huang implies would be his choice?
From Los Angeles Times
The good times can’t last forever, yet a low-cost index fund is a great choice for patient investors who are willing to ride out the bad.
From Barron's
"I am only 25 and I am doing this to my body through no choice," she said.
From BBC
“But desperate situations force desperate choices, and all of them are high cost.”
From Los Angeles Times
It didn’t help that builders pulled back in the years immediately following the 2008-09 financial crisis, resulting in fewer choices.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
