pick
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to choose or select from among a group.
to pick a contestant from the audience.
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to seek and find occasion for; provoke.
to pick a fight.
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to attempt to find; seek out.
to pick flaws in an argument.
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to steal the contents of.
Her pocket was picked yesterday.
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to open (a lock) with a device other than the key, as a sharp instrument or wire, especially for the purpose of burglary.
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to pierce, indent, dig into, or break up (something) with a pointed instrument.
to pick rock; to pick ore.
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to form (a hole) by such action.
to pick a hole in asphalt.
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to use a pointed instrument, the fingers, the teeth, the beak, etc., on (a thing), in order to remove or loosen something, as a small part or adhering matter.
to pick one's teeth.
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to prepare for use by removing a covering piece by piece, as feathers, hulls, or other parts.
to pick a fowl.
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to detach or remove piece by piece with the fingers.
She picked the meat from the bones.
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to pluck or gather one by one.
to pick flowers.
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(of birds or other animals) to take up (small bits of food) with the bill or teeth.
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to eat daintily or in small morsels.
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to separate, pull apart, or pull to pieces.
to pick fibers.
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Music.
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to pluck (the strings of an instrument).
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to play (a stringed instrument) by plucking with the fingers.
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verb (used without object)
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to strike with or use a pick or other pointed instrument on something.
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(of birds or other animals) to take up small bits of food with the bill or teeth.
The hens were busily picking about in their coop.
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to select carefully or fastidiously.
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to pilfer; steal.
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to pluck or gather fruit, flowers, etc.
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Basketball. to execute a pick.
noun
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the act of choosing or selecting; choice; selection.
to take one's pick.
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a person or thing that is selected.
He is our pick for president.
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the choicest or most desirable part, example, or examples.
This horse is the pick of the stable.
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the right of selection.
He gave me my pick of the litter.
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the quantity of a crop picked, as from trees, bushes, etc., at a particular time.
The pick was poor this season.
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Printing.
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a speck of dirt, hardened ink, or extra metal on set type or a plate.
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a small area removed from the surface of a coated paper by ink that adheres to the form.
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a stroke with something pointed.
The rock shattered at the first pick of the ax.
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Basketball. an offensive maneuver in which a player moves into a position between a defender and a teammate with the ball so as to prevent the defender from interfering with the shot.
verb phrase
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pick on
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Informal. to criticize or blame; tease; harass.
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to single out; choose.
The professor always picks on me to translate long passages.
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pick up on
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become aware or cognizant of; be perceptive about; notice.
to pick up on the hostess's hostility.
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to pay special attention to; keep an eye on.
to pick up on a troubled student.
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pick out
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to choose; designate.
to pick out one's successor.
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to distinguish from that which surrounds or accompanies; recognize.
to pick out a well-known face in a crowd.
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to discern (sense or meaning); discriminate.
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to play (a melody) by ear; work out note by note.
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to extract by picking.
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pick over to examine (an assortment of items) in order to make a selection.
Eager shoppers were picking over the shirts on the bargain tables.
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pick up
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to lift or take up.
to pick up a stone.
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to collect, especially in an orderly manner.
Pick up the tools when you're finished.
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to recover (one's courage, health, etc.); regain.
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to gain by occasional opportunity; obtain casually.
to pick up a livelihood.
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to learn, as by experience.
I've picked up a few Japanese phrases.
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to claim.
to pick up one's bags at an airport.
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to take (a person or thing) into a car or ship, etc., or along with one.
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to bring into range of reception, observation, etc..
to pick up Rome on one's radio.
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to accelerate; gain (speed).
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to put in good order; tidy.
to pick up a room.
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to make progress; improve.
Business is beginning to pick up.
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to catch or contract, as a disease.
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Informal. to become acquainted with informally or casually, often in hope of a sexual relationship.
Let's pick up some dates tonight.
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to resume or continue after being left off.
Let's pick up the discussion in our next meeting.
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Informal. to take into custody; arrest.
They picked him up for vagrancy.
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Informal. to obtain; find; purchase.
She picked up some nice shoes on sale.
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Slang. to steal.
to pick up jewels and silver.
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to accept, as in order to pay.
to pick up the check.
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pick off
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to remove by pulling or plucking off.
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to single out and shoot.
The hunter picked off a duck rising from the marsh.
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Baseball. to put out (a base runner) in a pick-off play.
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pick at
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to find fault with unnecessarily or persistently; nag.
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to eat sparingly or daintily.
As he was ill, he only picked at his food.
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to grasp at; touch; handle.
The baby loved to pick at her mother's glasses.
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idioms
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pick apart, to criticize severely or in great detail.
They picked her apart the moment she left the room.
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pick it up, to move, work, etc., at a faster rate.
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pick one's way / steps, to walk with care and deliberation.
She picked her way across the muddy field.
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pick someone's brains. brain.
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pick and choose, to be very careful or particular in choosing.
With such a limited supply of fresh fruit, you won't be able to pick and choose.
noun
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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.
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a hammerlike tool for the rough dressing of stone, having two sharp, pyramidal faces.
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any pointed or other tool or instrument for picking (often used in combination).
a toothpick;
an ice pick.
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Music. plectrum.
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Slang. a large pocket comb having long, widely spaced teeth.
verb
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to choose (something) deliberately or carefully, from or as if from a group or number; select
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to pluck or gather (fruit, berries, or crops) from (a tree, bush, field, etc)
to pick hops
to pick a whole bush
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(tr) to clean or prepare (fruit, poultry, etc) by removing the indigestible parts
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(tr) to remove loose particles from (the teeth, the nose, etc)
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(esp of birds) to nibble or gather (corn, etc)
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to nibble (at) fussily or without appetite
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to separate (strands, fibres, etc), as in weaving
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(tr) to provoke (an argument, fight, etc) deliberately
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(tr) to steal (money or valuables) from (a person's pocket)
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(tr) to open (a lock) with an instrument other than a key
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to pluck the strings of (a guitar, banjo, etc)
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(tr) to make (one's way) carefully on foot
they picked their way through the rubble
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to select fastidiously, fussily, etc
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to obtain information or ideas from someone
noun
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freedom or right of selection (esp in the phrase take one's pick )
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a person, thing, etc, that is chosen first or preferred
the pick of the bunch
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the act of picking
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the amount of a crop picked at one period or from one area
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printing a speck of dirt or paper fibre or a blob of ink on the surface of set type or a printing plate
noun
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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
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any of various tools used for picking, such as an ice pick or toothpick
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a plectrum
verb
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(tr) to pierce, dig, or break up (a hard surface) with a pick
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(tr) to form (a hole) in this way
verb
noun
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one casting of a shuttle
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a weft or filling thread
Related Words
See choose.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pick1
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 peck 1, pike 5, pique 1
Origin of pick2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pikk(e); perhaps variant of pike 5
Origin of pick3
First recorded in 1790–95; variant of pitch 1
Explanation
When you pick something, you choose it, the way you pick apples in the fall or when you pick a partner to work with in biology class. But if you pick on someone, you bug them in a mean way. Something you pick can be called a pick, like the "pick of the litter,” the best dog of the bunch. You can also use a pick to chop ice or play guitar. You can pick at something, like a loose thread, or pick something up, like your new puppy. You could pick on someone, but that's a good way to pick a fight, or provoke an argument. Pick is an old word related to “peck, sting, and pinch.”
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.
Clarke, a 6-foot-7 right-hander, was the third overall pick in the inaugural Banana Ball draft held in November.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
Additionally, Palantir’s 60% operating margin is a sign of “underinvestment,” he said, specifically around its go-to-market strategy, which he thinks could limit the company’s opportunity to pick up more market share.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
Microsoft was a Barron’s stock pick in March, when shares were trading at around $402.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
For coal, Whitehaven is now MS’s top pick, Anand says.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
He ran, carrying the stick like a toy, and when we stopped to feed or rest he would put the stick down, eat, then pick it up again.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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.
