pick1
¦ verb
1. take hold of and remove (a flower or fruit) from where it is growing.
(often pick someone/thing up) take hold of and lift or move.
(pick up) Golf take hold of and lift up one's ball, especially when conceding a hole.
2. choose from a number of alternatives.
(pick one's way) walk slowly and carefully.
3. (often pick at) repeatedly pull at something with one's fingers.
eat in small amounts or without much appetite.
criticize someone in a niggling way.
4. remove unwanted matter from (one's nose or teeth) with a finger or a pointed instrument.
5. pluck the strings of (a guitar or banjo).
¦ noun
1. an act or the right of selecting something.
(the pick of) informal the best person or thing in a particular group.
2. Basketball an act of blocking or screening a defensive player from the ball handler.
Phrases
pick and choose select only the best from among a number of alternatives.
pick someone's brains informal obtain information by questioning someone well informed.
pick a fight provoke an argument or fight.
pick holes in find fault with.
pick a lock open a lock with an instrument other than the proper key.
pick someone's pockets steal something surreptitiously from another person's pocket.
pick someone/thing to pieces (or apart) criticize someone or something severely.
Phrasal verbs
pick someone/thing off shoot a member of a group from a distance.
pick on repeatedly single out for unfair criticism or unkind treatment.
pick someone/thing out distinguish or select someone or something from a group.
pick something out highlight something by painting or fashioning in a contrasting colour or medium.
pick something over (or pick through) sort through a number of items carefully.
pick up improve or increase.
pick someone up
1. go somewhere to collect someone.
2. informal casually strike up a relationship with someone as a sexual overture.
3. return to a point or remark made by someone in order to criticize it.
pick something up
1. collect something that has been left elsewhere.
2. obtain, acquire, or learn something.
catch an illness or infection.
3. detect or receive a signal or sound.
4. resume something.
5. (also pick up on) refer to or develop a point or topic mentioned earlier.
become aware of or sensitive to something.
6. N. Amer. tidy a room or building.
Derivatives
pickable adjective
picker noun
Origin
ME (orig. as pike): of unknown origin.
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pick2
¦ noun
1. a tool headed by a curved bar with a point at one end and a chisel edge or point at the other, used for breaking up hard ground or rock.
2. an instrument for picking.
informal a plectrum.
Origin