picking

[pik-ing]

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that picks.

2. something that is or may be picked or picked up.

3. the amount picked.

4. pickings,

   1. scraps or gleanings.

      the pickings of a feast.

   2. profits or gains; spoils.

Word History and Origins

Origin of picking¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English picung (once) a mark made by picking; pick ¹, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Tuchel made it clear he is picking an England team, not individuals.

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I’d hate to turn her over to the state like when, several years ago, the police routinely began picking her up.

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Captain Harry Kane is unavailable after picking up a foot injury while playing for Bayern Munich at the weekend - but hopes to be fit to face Latvia in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier.

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For investors worried about picking the right firm to work with, it’s comforting to know that private-credit returns have had far less performance dispersion than private equity.

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The ghost of “Beloved” is psychological, picking apart Sethe’s traumatic experience of slavery and her guilt from murdering her infant.

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Related Words

• choice 
• collection 
• draft 
• election 
• excerpt 
• option 
• pick