select

[ si-lekt ]

/ sɪˈlɛkt /

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See synonyms for: select / selected / selecting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to choose in preference to another or others; pick out.

verb (used without object)

to make a choice; pick.

adjective

chosen in preference to another or others; selected.

of special value or excellence; choice.

careful or fastidious in selecting; discriminating.

carefully or fastidiously chosen; exclusive: a select group of friends.

OTHER WORDS FOR select

3 preferred.

See synonyms for select on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of select

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin sēlēctus (past participle of sēligere “to gather apart”), equivalent to sē- “apart” + leg(ere) “to gather, choose” + -tus past participle suffix; cf. lection, se-

synonym study for select

1. See choose.

OTHER WORDS FROM select

se·lec·ta·ble, adjectivese·lec·ta·bil·i·ty, nounse·lect·ly, adverbse·lect·ness, noun

se·lec·tor, nounnon·se·lect·ed, adjectivere·se·lect, verb (used with object)un·se·lect, adjectiveun·se·lect·ed, adjectivewell-se·lect·ed, adjective

Words nearby select

Selby, selcouth, Selden, seldom, seldomly, select, selecta, selectance, select committee, selectee, selection

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use select in a sentence

That’s about enough to vaccinate everyone in the world, except those doses are in the hands of just a select few countries.
Don’t hate the vaccine tourists, hate the vaccine game|Jen Kirby|February 12, 2021|Vox
Then select Option 1 to input the last six digits of your Social Security number as well as your Zip code.
Tax season 2021: A tornado is coming|Michelle Singletary|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Next, Pymetrics’s system compares the data from those 50 employees with game data from more than 10,000 people randomly selected from over two million.
Auditors are testing hiring algorithms for bias, but there’s no easy fix|Amy Nordrum|February 11, 2021|MIT Technology Review
All the participants had to do was select the questions they were going to ask a conversation partner — again, from the pool of questions ranked by sensitivity.
Can I Ask You a Ridiculously Personal Question? (Ep. 451)|Stephen J. Dubner|February 11, 2021|Freakonomics

Adjust the heat by selecting one of the three levels based on the outside temperature, calculated for 5, 32, and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Best hand warmers: Block the chill during your favorite winter activities|PopSci Commerce Team|February 10, 2021|Popular-Science
All it needs is one more “pipe” to select and transmit the crucial information.
Red Tape and Black Boxes: Why We Keep ‘Losing’ Airliners in 2014|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You can even buy containers of their Cereal Milk in select stores.
Cereal Cafe’s Big Bowl of Hate|David Levesley|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And, second, we already use sortition to select an important deliberative body, the trial jury.
Is It Time to Take a Chance on Random Representatives?|Michael Schulson|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Until recently, being published was a pleasure afforded only to a select few.
You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story|Walter Isaacson|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Roark was a staffer on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and focused on NSA oversight.
Speed Read: James Risen Indicts The War On Terror’s Costly Follies|William O’Connor|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I do not care very much how you censor or select the reading and talking and thinking of the schoolboy or schoolgirl.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Of the methods given, the physician should select the one which best meets his needs.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
New proposals regarding telephone charges are expected as soon as the Select Committee has reported.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 158, April 28, 1920|Various
There is no necessity for giving a table of all of their tones here; we select the two most useful.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
Then, as Man did not make nor select his power of choice, Man cannot be blamed if that power chooses evil.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford

British Dictionary definitions for select

select

/ (sɪˈlɛkt) /

verb

to choose (someone or something) in preference to another or others

adjective

Also: selected chosen in preference to another or others

of particular quality or excellence

limited as to membership or entrya select gathering

careful in making a choice

Derived forms of select

selectly, adverbselectness, noun

Word Origin for select

C16: from Latin sēligere to sort, from sē- apart + legere to choose

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

select

OTHER WORDS FOR select

Origin of select

synonym study for select

OTHER WORDS FROM select

Words nearby select

Words related to select

How to use select in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for select

Derived forms of select

Word Origin for select