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Synonyms

pick on

British  

verb

  1. (tr, preposition) to select (someone) for something unpleasant, esp in order to bully, blame, or cause to perform a distasteful task

"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 on Idioms  

  1. Tease, bully, victimize, as in She told Mom the boys were always picking on her. [Second half of 1800s] This expression is sometimes put as pick on someone your own size, meaning “don't badger someone who is younger, smaller, or weaker than yourself but do so only to an equal.”

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.

Barron’s made Paramount Skydance a top stock pick on Aug. 8.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

When the NFL draft begins on Thursday night, Commissioner Roger Goodell will hardly need to glance at an index card to know that the Raiders intended to use the first overall pick on Mendoza.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Intel was a Barron’s stock pick on Wednesday.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

Smith-Njigba’s radar for the ball is why the Seahawks used their first-round pick on him even though they already had a star receiver in DK Metcalf.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

“I don’t like strangers. I don’t like Martians. I never seen one before. It ain’t natural. All these years you guys hide, and all of a sudden you pick on me. Leave me alone.”

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

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.