picking
Americannoun
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pickings
plural
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the act of a person or thing that picks.
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something that is or may be picked or picked up.
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the amount picked.
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pickings,
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scraps or gleanings.
the pickings of a feast.
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profits or gains; spoils.
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of picking
before 900; Middle English; Old English picung (once) a mark made by picking; see pick 1, -ing 1
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.
See Examples For:
“I loved his at-bats,” said Roberts after Friday’s victory, picking up where the Dodgers’ crowd left off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
If your vehicle doesn’t include them, I highly recommend picking them up for your ride.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Charter Communications wrapped up its $34.5-billion takeover of Cox Communications early Thursday, picking up millions of new internet and TV customers in Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Baleba made 35 appearances for Brighton last season, picking up seven yellow cards as a defensive midfielder.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
I ask, picking up the tubing and placing it back on its hook.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Holly: Losing Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez in this transfer window leaves slim pickings in terms of a talisman at Fulham, with remaining striker Rodrigo Muniz among their most expensive assets.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
A hunk of romaine was easy pickings for Porkchop and her three flippers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
Squirrels should be smart enough to take the easy pickings over the puzzle box.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2026
“There are slimmer pickings, and I think a lot of the opportunities that were historically available are harder to come by,” he said, regarding funding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
All the same, Joe and Nancy couldn’t help but feel a slight glow as they gunned through the dusty wasteland toward where pickings were best.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
