pick out

British  

verb

1. to select for use or special consideration, illustration, etc, as from a group

2. to distinguish (an object from its surroundings), as in painting

   she picked out the woodwork in white

3. to perceive or recognize (a person or thing previously obscured)

   we picked out his face among the crowd

4. to distinguish (sense or meaning) from or as if from a mass of detail or complication

5. to play (a tune) tentatively, by or as if by ear

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pick out Idioms  

1. Choose, select, as in She picked out the best piece of fabric . [Early 1500s]

2. Distinguish, discern from one's surroundings, as in They managed to pick out their mother from the crowd . [Mid-1500s]

3. Identify the notes of a tune and play it on an instrument, as in When she was four she could pick out folk songs on the piano . [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Josh Adams was picked out by Dan Edwards' precise punt for Wales's solitary try five minutes after the restart, but, for the most part, the one-way traffic continued to steamroll the visitors.

From BBC

Browne, 29, has tickets to a spring music festival in Washington and has already picked out a tank top shaped like a butterfly for the event.

From The Wall Street Journal

Then he heard the man say, "Have you picked out his name?"

From Literature

It only took a few seconds for my hand to land on a square chocolate while Jeb picked out a cream filled one.

From Literature

As he was picking out Draco, the great dragon that twisted between the Dippers, he drifted off to sleep.

From Literature

Related Words

• accept
• admit
• appoint
• conclude
• designate
• determine
• name
• nominate
• pick
• receive
• resolve
• take
• vote
• vote for