cherry picker

Or cherry-picker,

noun

1. a moveable boom, having a bucketlike attachment at its top that is large enough to carry a worker: used for repairing telephone lines, pruning trees, etc.

2. a vehicle equipped with such a boom.

cherry picker

noun

1. a hydraulic crane, esp one mounted on a lorry, that has an elbow joint or telescopic arm supporting a basket-like platform enabling a person to service high power lines or to carry out similar operations above the ground

Word History and Origins

Origin of cherry picker¹

First recorded in 1860–65

When To Use

What does cherry-picker mean?

A cherry picker is a kind of crane with a bucket or platform that can hold a person, especially one mounted on a truck (often called a bucket truck). Cherry pickers can be used to lift someone up to heights that can’t be reached by most ladders, such as to trim trees or fix power lines.In sports like basketball and soccer (football), cherry picker means something different. It’s an informal term used to refer to a player who positions themself away from the main action and most defenders, near the basket or goal, in hopes of being passed the ball and being able to score easily. To do this is to cherry-pick.The verb cherry-pick has several other meanings. Most commonly, it means to choose very carefully. It especially means to select the best of what’s available or being offered. The word sometimes implies that doing so is solely for one’s benefit or gain, or to gain an advantage over others.In the context of research and data, cherry-pick is used in a more specific way meaning to selectively choose and present information that supports an existing point of view or hypothesis. This kind of cherry-picking is often unethical.The term cherry picker can refer to anyone who cherry-picks in any of the senses of the word.Cherry picker is sometimes spelled with a hyphen, as cherry-picker, or as one one, cherrypicker.Example: They have a guy up in a cherry picker trimming branches.