QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Idioms about pick
Origin of pick
1First 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, adjectiveWords nearby pick
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
2First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pikk(e); perhaps variant of pike5
Other definitions for pick (3 of 3)
pick3
[ pik ]
/ pɪk /
verb (used with object)
to cast (a shuttle).
noun
(in a loom) one passage of the shuttle.
Origin of pick
3First recorded in 1790–95; variant of pitch1
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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, adjectiveWord 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
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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.