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Synonyms

hand-picked

British  

adjective

  1. selected with great care, as for a special job or purpose; chosen

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The 79-year-old installed himself as chairman of a hand-picked board to lead the center, originally named after president John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

The guests had been hand-picked by prominent New York literary agent John Brockman, who frequently hosted similar salons for luminaries in science, technology and media.

From Salon • Feb. 24, 2026

Mr. Pinsker reminds us that Lincoln also hand-picked the Republican candidates for state legislature that year—knowing that senators of the day were elected by the legislature, not a direct vote of the people.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

The stunning announcement came after a series of missteps and miscalculations by Chapek, Iger’s hand-picked successor, that raised questions about his leadership.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

Then he and his eleven hand-picked crew members climbed into the plane.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

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.