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Showing results for pickings. Search instead for prickings.
Synonyms

pickings

British  
/ ˈpɪkɪŋz /

plural noun

  1. (sometimes singular) money, profits, etc, acquired easily or by more or less dishonest means; spoils

"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

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 those who poured in to see eight-time Ballon d'Or-winner Messi there were slim pickings, as the tightly marked 38-year-old failed to get a shot on target despite Miami dominating possession.

From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026

The drink lineup was solid, much better than the slim pickings at my $89 beach day in the Dominican Republic a few days earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

Squirrels should be smart enough to take the easy pickings over the puzzle box.

From Slate • Jan. 25, 2026

Rowanne Bennett-Waters, who brings her three-year-old son to the nursery, said he didn't enjoy "more traditional settings" and there were "slim pickings" for places he could go next.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2025

That morning there were a lot of pickings; I soon filled the small basket I had with me.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

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.