pick out
Britishverb
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to select for use or special consideration, illustration, etc, as from a group
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to distinguish (an object from its surroundings), as in painting
she picked out the woodwork in white
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to perceive or recognize (a person or thing previously obscured)
we picked out his face among the crowd
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to distinguish (sense or meaning) from or as if from a mass of detail or complication
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to play (a tune) tentatively, by or as if by ear
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Choose, select, as in She picked out the best piece of fabric . [Early 1500s]
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Distinguish, discern from one's surroundings, as in They managed to pick out their mother from the crowd . [Mid-1500s]
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Identify the notes of a tune and play it on an instrument, as in When she was four she could pick out folk songs on the piano . [Late 1800s]
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.
He slog-swept Liam Dawson to deep square leg for 24 - one of six batters to wastefully pick out fielders in the deep.
From BBC
I’m wearing the outfit I picked out on our annual pre-holiday shopping trip—a burgundy crushed-velvet dress that was super itchy but also super cute.
From Literature
But he mustered the strength to look through the family’s large photo album ahead of the U.S. championships and pick out several photos he brought to the competition.
From Los Angeles Times
He knew she was back to her old self when she picked out a blue hat with a white feather tucked into the band.
From Literature
Josh Adams was picked out by Dan Edwards' precise punt for Wales's solitary try five minutes after the restart, but, for the most part, the one-way traffic continued to steamroll the visitors.
From BBC
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.
