pick at

British

verb

(intr, preposition) to make criticisms of in a niggling or petty manner

"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

pick at Idioms

Pluck or pull at, especially with the fingers, as in She was always picking at her skirt with her nails . [1600s]
Eat sparingly and without appetite, as in He was just picking at his dinner . [Late 1500s]
Nag, badger, as in He's picking at me all day long . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1600s]

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.

Thanks to its record and growth prospects, Alibaba stock is a top pick at Jefferies.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

A very popular FPL pick at the moment and one flagged as a player to watch in this column three weeks ago.

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2024

Vance said Trump had weighed announcing Vance as his VP pick at the Butler rally but ultimately decided to hold off.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2024

Vance was introduced as Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick at the Republican National Convention, the most surprising thing, in my estimation, was his wife’s shoes.

From Slate • Jul. 29, 2024

I stare at the fuzz on my jeans and pick at it and pick at it, and this whole string pops out.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023