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:
Unlike his predecessor, Johnson had held no leadership positions within the House prior to picking up the gavel.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
He noted that Google kept its lead as the “first stop” for respondents when it came to use cases like buying flights and hotels, finding services, searching for vacation ideas, picking restaurants and travel planning.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Rallying around the slogan “Free Red Elk,” Mitchell and others posted videos picking apart Walters’ case.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Edinburgh native Kerr has won medals representing Great Britain at both the Olympics - picking up bronze in 2020 and silver in 2024 - and World Championships, having taken gold in 2023.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
She moved west over the Sahara Desert, picking up sand and heat, then swept out into the Atlantic, where she became a tropical storm and got her name.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
It is slim pickings when assessing Hull's assets, so it's likely best to look at players from other clubs for your FPL teams at this point.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
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
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
Squirrels should be smart enough to take the easy pickings over the puzzle box.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2026
Great flocks of them have been migrating through here since I’ve arrived, and the pickings are easy.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
