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Idioms about pick

Origin of pick

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; partly from Middle English verb piken, pyken, pikken, pekken “to work with a pick; work or hit with the mouth or beak,” Old English nouns píc “point, pointed tool, pike” and pícung “stigmata,” from the unrecorded verb pícian “to prick”; cognate with Dutch pikken, German picken, Old Norse pikka “to prick, pick”; partly from Old French piquier “to prick, pluck”; see origin at peck1, pike5, pique1

synonym study for pick

1. See choose.

OTHER WORDS FROM pick

pick·a·ble, adjectiveun·pick·a·ble, adjective

Other definitions for pick (2 of 3)

pick2
[ pik ]
/ pɪk /

noun
a heavy tool consisting of an iron or steel head, usually curved, tapering to a point at one or both ends, mounted on a wooden handle, and used for loosening and breaking up soil, rock, etc.; pickax.
a hammerlike tool for the rough dressing of stone, having two sharp, pyramidal faces.
any pointed or other tool or instrument for picking (often used in combination): a toothpick;an ice pick.
Music. plectrum.
Slang. a large pocket comb having long, widely spaced teeth.

Origin of pick

2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pikk(e); perhaps variant of pike5

Other definitions for pick (3 of 3)

pick3
[ pik ]
/ pɪk /
Textiles.

verb (used with object)
to cast (a shuttle).
noun
(in a loom) one passage of the shuttle.

Origin of pick

3
First recorded in 1790–95; variant of pitch1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pick in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pick (1 of 3)

pick1
/ (pɪk) /

verb
noun

Derived forms of pick

pickable, adjective

Word Origin for pick

C15: from earlier piken to pick, influenced by French piquer to pierce; compare Middle Low German picken, Dutch pikken

British Dictionary definitions for pick (2 of 3)

pick2
/ (pɪk) /

noun
a tool with a handle carrying a long steel head curved and tapering to a point at one or both ends, used for loosening soil, breaking rocks, etc
any of various tools used for picking, such as an ice pick or toothpick
a plectrum
verb
(tr) to pierce, dig, or break up (a hard surface) with a pick
(tr) to form (a hole) in this way

Word Origin for pick

C14: perhaps variant of pike ²

British Dictionary definitions for pick (3 of 3)

pick3
/ (in weaving pɪk) /

verb
(tr) to cast (a shuttle)
noun
one casting of a shuttle
a weft or filling thread

Word Origin for pick

C14: variant of pitch 1
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with pick

pick

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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