pickings
Britishplural noun
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.
But for 2½ hours she got the error message and could not access the pool of tickets until 12:30 p.m., by which time, she said, “the pickings were slim.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 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
This year, low rainfall led to slim pickings in the West Bank, including for the tree whose many nicknames include the Elder, the Bedouin Tree and Mother of Olives.
From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025
They've had lean pickings, this raggedy pair of highwaymen, Jemmy thought.
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
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.
