select

[ si-lekt ]

/ sɪˈlɛkt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR select 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.

choice; of special value or excellence.

careful or fastidious in selecting; discriminating.

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

Nearby words

selcouthly, selden, selden, john, seldom, seldomly, select, select committee, selecta, selectance, selectee, selection

Origin of select

1555–65; < Latin sēlēctus (past participle of sēligere to gather apart), equivalent to sē- se- + leg(ere) to gather, choose + -tus past participle suffix

Related forms

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

Synonym study

1. See choose.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for select

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

He went through his entire database of over 70,000 images to select pieces for the Arizona show.
Art in the Age of National Security|Terry Greene Sterling|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We may expect wisdom in the choice of the human agents we select.
Among the Forces|Henry White Warren
This story was related to a select coterie of occultists assembled in social conclave at the headquarters in New York.
Hours with the Ghosts or, Nineteenth Century Witchcraft|Henry Ridgely Evans
Therefore, if we wanted to land in the Moon, the period of the Full Moon was the best period to select.
All Around the Moon|Jules Verne
Particular care should be taken to select varieties that are capable of yielding a product of high quality.
The Vegetable Garden|Anonymous
My letters no longer swamp me; I select now, guided by a sure instinct.
'Neath Verdun, August-October, 1914|Maurice Genevoix

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 Formsselectly, 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

Word Origin and History for select (1 of 2)

select

adj.

1560s, from Latin selectus, past participle of seligere "choose out, single out, select; separate, cull," from se- "apart" (see secret (n.)) + legere "to gather, select" (see lecture (n.)). The noun meaning "a selected person or thing, that which is choice" is recorded from c.1600. New England selectman first recorded 1640s.

Word Origin and History for select (1 of 2)

select

1560s, from select (adj.) or from Latin selectus. Related: Selected; selecting.

select

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of select

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for select

British Dictionary definitions for select

select

verb

adjective

Word Origin for select

Word Origin and History for select (1 of 2)

select

Word Origin and History for select (1 of 2)

select