select
Americanverb (used with object)
-
selects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
selected,
past participle, past
-
selecting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
selects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
selected,
past participle, past
-
selecting
present participle
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.
verb
adjective
-
Also: selected. chosen in preference to another or others
-
of particular quality or excellence
-
limited as to membership or entry
a select gathering
-
careful in making a choice
Synonym Usage
See choose.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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selectabilitynoun
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selectnessnoun
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selectornoun
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reselectverb (used with object)
-
nonselectedadjective
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selectableadjective
-
unselectadjective
-
unselectedadjective
-
well-selectedadjective
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selectlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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selectsimple
-
selectssimple
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have selectedperfect
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has selectedperfect
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am selectingprogressive
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are selectingprogressive
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is selectingprogressive
-
have been selectingperfect progressive
-
has been selectingperfect progressive
Past
-
selectedsimple
-
had selectedperfect
-
was selectingprogressive
-
were selectingprogressive
-
had been selectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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 ( def. ), se-
Explanation
To select something means to choose it from among others. If you select the most expensive phone, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be happy with what you get. You can use select as an adjective as well as a verb. It means "specially chosen" or "of superior quality." For instance, you might be one of the select few who know how to really appreciate a game of Tetris, or you might want to choose a wine from a select list of Spanish reds. All of this assumes that if you select one thing, you feel that it's better than all the other choices.
Vocabulary lists containing select
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 81-90
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 6
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"Charlotte's Web": Chapter One
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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:
Though Brook says it's "not that easy", Stokes' point is only a select few have Brook's talent, and he might not be making the most of it.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Alternatively, in the Alexa app, select the device, then Device Settings, then Alexa’s Personality Style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Her concert film, “A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl,” will be screened at select theaters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
But since the rings select their bearers by asking whether they’re afraid during an ambush designed to create dread, the test favors those for whom life never presents anything to fear.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Hobbes’s point is not that expertise is whatever the sovereign says it is; it is that non-experts can be competent to select experts.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Gruel selects seafood, one of what he calls the country’s “bounty items,” and announces that they will make salmon cakes.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Overprescribing antibiotics leads to deadly resistant bacteria, while industrial fishing, which harvests the largest adults, ultimately selects for ever-smaller fish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Should Airbus opt for this type of engine while Boeing selects a more conventional architecture, CFM believes it can cater for both giants of the air.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The presiding officer chairs debates in the chamber, selects speakers in debates and represents the parliament at home and abroad.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
Biting his lip, Chapter Eleven selects an egg from the bowl, studies it, returns it.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
"So, that's the basement. Everybody who will be selected on the pitch has to play with big integrity. The mentality and the desire to represent the country is the most important."
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The amount depends on where your son lives, his age, the plan he selected, whether he is eligible for a subsidy, whether you claim him as a tax dependent, your household MAGI, among other factors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Davis, 63, was in court last week as a jury was selected.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Once the selected become official members of the Green Lantern Corps, they can wield their rings to create astronomical constructs.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
As new flies had been born, selected, and bred, the gene frequencies had changed, resulting in populations with new genetic compositions.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Institutional investors have experience and expertise in selecting and monitoring alternative investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
In these fields, selecting the correct enantiomer can be essential because two mirror-image versions of the same molecule may have very different biological or medical effects.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
We could rearrange the portfolios differently to tamp down the risk, selecting companies that are not projected to grow so quickly, but the current market environment justifies the risk — and will reward it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Users can opt out by going to settings, selecting “sharing and reuse” and turning off the option that allows others to create with and reuse their content.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Hurley was faced with the heartbreaking task of selecting which few to keep.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
