choose
Americanverb (used with object)
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chooses,
present (3rd person singular)
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chose,
past, past participle (Obsolete)
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chosen,
past participle
-
choosing
present participle
-
to select from a number of possibilities; pick by preference.
She chose Sunday for her departure.
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to prefer or decide (to do something).
He chose to run for election.
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to want; desire.
I choose moving to the city.
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(especially in children's games) to contend with (an opponent) to decide, as by odd or even, who will do something.
I'll choose you to see who gets to bat first.
verb (used without object)
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chooses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chose,
past, past participle (Obsolete)
-
chosen,
past participle
-
choosing
present participle
-
to make a choice, or select from two or more possibilities.
Accepted by several colleges, the boy chose carefully.
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to be inclined.
You may stay here, if you choose.
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(especially in children's games) to decide, as by means of odd or even, who will do something.
Let's choose to see who bats first.
verb phrase
idioms
verb
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to select (a person, thing, course of action, etc) from a number of alternatives
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(tr; takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to consider it desirable or proper
I don't choose to read that book
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(intr) to like; please
you may stand if you choose
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to be obliged to
we cannot choose but vote for him
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(of two people or objects) almost equal
Synonym Usage
Choose, select, pick, elect, prefer indicate a decision that one or more possibilities are to be regarded more highly than others. Choose suggests a decision on one of a number of possibilities because of its apparent superiority: to choose a course of action. Select suggests a choice made for fitness: to select the proper golf club. Pick, an informal word, suggests a selection on personal grounds: to pick a winner. The formal word elect suggests a kind of official action: to elect a representative. Prefer, also formal, emphasizes the desire or liking for one thing more than for another or others: to prefer coffee to tea.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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choosernoun
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rechooseverb
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prechooseverb (used with object)
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choosableadjective
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unchoosableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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choosesimple
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choosessimple
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have choseperfect
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have chosenperfect
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has choseperfect
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has chosenperfect
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am choosingprogressive
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are choosingprogressive
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is choosingprogressive
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have been choosingperfect progressive
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has been choosingperfect progressive
Past
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chosesimple
-
had choseperfect
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had chosenperfect
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was choosingprogressive
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were choosingprogressive
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had been choosingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of choose
First recorded before 1000; Middle English chosen, chēsen, Old English cēosan; cognate with Gothic kiusan, Old High German kiosan ( German kiesen ); akin to Greek geúesthai “to enjoy,” Latin gustāre “to taste” ( see gusto)
Explanation
The hardest part of adopting a dog from a shelter is when you have to choose which one to bring home with you. When you pick out one pup from the mass of barking canines, that's the dog you choose. Any time you decide on one thing over another — whether it's a seat on a plane, a new pair of shoes, or who you want to marry — you choose it. The Old English word that choose comes from is ceosan, which means something closer to "taste."
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.
See Examples For:
Something I could tap into just myself, or choose to share, but wasn’t attached to the memory of any of the real-life ouchy stuff.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Experts review the evidence, choose a key message, then ask someone else to package it for the public.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
Drivers will be free to choose whether they want to enable the streaming options.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Since the November ballot is ranked choice, voters can choose multiple candidates, yet some inevitably pick a single name.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
I choose Coco, a movie I’ve seen before.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Other times the canvas can still be enormous; what’s small is the intimate story Scott chooses to tell within it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Where your son chooses to go to college matters.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
It will be a reminder of what food media can offer when it chooses to nourish more than our appetites.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
But whatever price structure it chooses could be upended if and when the large language model providers change their own pricing strategies.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Nali said, “This is how he chooses to deal with problems. Inside, now!”
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
In other words, I specifically rejected Contractor A because of his reputation and chose Contractor B because of his reputation.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Another executive said he didn't remember writing on a slide deck that sometimes Meta chose to pay fines for violating regulations rather than make changes.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Dolly chose her covers carefully, but even she couldn’t have known how full-circle this would come around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
“I chose science because science gave me what I needed,” she writes, “a home as defined in the most literal sense: a safe place to be.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
These days, though, just as many girls chose their own husbands.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
The Orange Order has confirmed it intends to apply for another Drumcree parade in the coming days and a "significant date" in the calendar may be chosen for the parade.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Tree shrews were chosen for the experiments because their eyes have anatomical and optical characteristics that are similar to human eyes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Five years later, he was chosen by a conservative British prime minister, David Cameron, to head the Bank of England, becoming the first foreigner to lead the institution.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
It shows the implicit return projections for nine valuation indicators, each chosen because of its statistically significant track record in forecasting the S&P 500’s subsequent 10-year real total return.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Yet, even in front of men chosen for their positive stance on spirit communication, Maggie’s powers deserted her.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
I think what you’re really asking when you’re talking about choosing an adviser from a brokerage or an independent is who you can trust.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Shoaf partners with cruise lines, choosing midsize ships with quiet meeting spaces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Current dietary guidance generally recommends keeping saturated fat below 10% of daily calories and choosing unsaturated fats when possible.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Even Ken Paxton is choosing his words carefully.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
The process of choosing an agent was a strange new experience for me.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
