cherry-pick
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to select with great care.
Out of the scores of zombie movies, this reviewer has cherry-picked some of the best ones for fans.
-
to select (data, examples, etc.) strategically so as to support a particular view or conclusion.
The company systematically cherry-picked data to ensure their products passed quality control tests.
verb (used without object)
verb
Usage
What does cherry-pick mean? To cherry-pick is 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, it’s 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. In sports like basketball and soccer (football), cherry-pick means something different: to position oneself 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. A person who does this can be called a cherry picker. The term cherry picker can also refer to anyone who cherry-picks in any of the senses of the word. It’s also used in a much more specific way to refer to a kind of crane with a bucket for a person to stand in, especially one mounted on a truck. This kind of cherry picker 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. Cherry-pick is sometimes spelled without a hyphen, as cherry pick. Example: When I was building my computer, I had to cherry-pick the best components from multiple brands to achieve a well-constructed machine.
Etymology
Origin of cherry-pick
First recorded in 1970–75
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.
"And it's not like you have to cherry-pick the data to make it stand out. It's robust," Soares-Furtado said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
Critics have often argued that history-and-tradition tests permit judges to cherry-pick the past until they find support for a preferred outcome.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
Almost everyone can cherry-pick a few former colleagues willing to say nice things about them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
You can cherry-pick plenty of numbers to sum up the crises in the United Kingdom.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
He set out to cherry-pick the absolute worst ones, and was a bit worried that the investment banks would catch on to just how much he knew about specific mortgage bonds, and adjust their prices.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
