choosy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of choosy
Explanation
Someone who's choosy is very particular or picky. If you're choosy about your food, you might refuse to eat at McDonald's no matter how hungry you are. Choosy people often have a reputation for being hard to please — they might take a long time to make a decision, or reject several choices as not being quite right. If you're choosy, you might hold out for the very best of something. An old TV commercial for peanut butter included the line, "Choosy moms choose Jif!" Choosy is an American English word, from choose, from the Old English root ceosan, "choose," and also "accept or approve."
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:
Property portals say buyers are now having to be choosy, with many working to a tight budget as mortgage rates have risen to three-year highs.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Tech stocks look interesting—but be choosy about which to buy.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Following a disappointing year for software stocks, investors still have to be choosy when playing the sector, analysts say.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 5, 2026
“There’s so much uncertainty on inflation, on tariffs, but what I would tell you is consumers are being choosy, but they’re choosing E.l.f.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
Dick, however, was choosy, and in bars his usual choice was an Orange Blossom.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
But I’m starting to get choosier, turning down some potential assignments and not pursuing others.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026
Discretionary companies are up against a consumer that is becoming choosier about where to spend money amid higher inflation and an uptick in interest rates.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
At the same time, the specialty lenders that house-flippers often use are getting choosier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Meanwhile, the spreading use of Ozempic is making it easier for millions of people to control their appetites and be choosier about what they consume.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025
No one in the Seam would turn up their nose at a good leg of wild dog, but the Peacekeepers who come to the Hob can afford to be a little choosier.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
Many of us believe attending the choosiest schools leads to greater success in life.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 13, 2022
To win a treasured acceptance letter from the choosiest colleges you often need something unique, such as a personal research project that impresses admissions office staffers in ways application essays and recommendations don’t.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 17, 2022
Now it was a national sensation and even the choosiest stars wanted to get on board.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 20, 2019
Day-Lewis, one of the world's choosiest actors with only five films to his name in the last 15 years, reportedly did not break character once in three months of filming.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 10, 2013
It is not for nothing that Zenith is in matters social rapidly becoming known as the choosiest inland city in the country.
From Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
