/ English Dictionary

PICK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of choosing or selecting

Example:

you can take your pick

Synonyms:

choice; option; pick; selection

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

action (something done (usually as opposed to something said))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pick"):

casting (the choice of actors to play particular roles in a play or movie)

coloration; colouration (choice and use of colors (as by an artist))

sampling ((statistics) the selection of a suitable sample for study)

conclusion; decision; determination (the act of making up your mind about something)

volition; willing (the act of making a choice)

election (the act of selecting someone or something; the exercise of deliberate choice)

ballot; balloting; vote; voting (a choice that is made by counting the number of people in favor of each alternative)

Derivation:

pick (select carefully from a group)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A basketball maneuver; obstructing an opponent with one's body

Example:

he was called for setting an illegal pick

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

basketball play (a play executed by a basketball team)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends

Example:

they used picks and sledges to break the rocks

Synonyms:

pick; pickax; pickaxe

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

edge tool (any cutting tool with a sharp cutting edge (as a chisel or knife or plane or gouge))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pick"):

mattock (a kind of pick that is used for digging; has a flat blade set at right angles to the handle)

Derivation:

pick (attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A thin sharp implement used for removing unwanted material

Example:

he used a pick to clean the dirt out of the cracks

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

hand tool (a tool used with workers' hands)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pick"):

ice pick; icepick (pick consisting of a steel rod with a sharp point; used for breaking up blocks of ice)

toothpick (pick consisting of a small strip of wood or plastic; used to pick food from between the teeth)

Derivation:

pick (remove in small bits)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A small thin device (of metal or plastic or ivory) used to pluck a stringed instrument

Synonyms:

pick; plectron; plectrum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pick"):

guitar pick (a plectrum used to pluck a guitar)

Derivation:

pick (pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving

Synonyms:

filling; pick; weft; woof

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

thread; yarn (a fine cord of twisted fibers (of cotton or silk or wool or nylon etc.) used in sewing and weaving)

Holonyms ("pick" is a part of...):

weave (pattern of weaving or structure of a fabric)

Holonyms ("pick" is a substance of...):

cloth; fabric; material; textile (artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The person or thing chosen or selected

Example:

he was my pick for mayor

Synonyms:

choice; pick; selection

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

deciding; decision making (the cognitive process of reaching a decision)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pick"):

pleasure (a formal expression)

favorite; favourite (something regarded with special favor or liking)

way (doing as one pleases or chooses)

Derivation:

pick (select carefully from a group)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The best people or things in a group

Example:

the cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War

Synonyms:

cream; pick

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

elite; elite group (a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status)

Derivation:

pick (select carefully from a group)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The quantity of a crop that is harvested

Example:

it was the biggest peach pick in years

Synonyms:

pick; picking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("pick" is a kind of...):

output; production; yield (the quantity of something (as a commodity) that is created (usually within a given period of time))

Derivation:

pick (look for and gather)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits

Example:

Clean the turkey

Synonyms:

clean; pick

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Remove in small bits

Example:

pick meat from a bone

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

pick (a thin sharp implement used for removing unwanted material)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Select carefully from a group

Example:

He picked his way carefully

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

choose; pick out; select; take (pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pick"):

hand-pick (pick personally and very carefully)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

picker (a person who chooses or selects out)

pick (the best people or things in a group)

pick (the person or thing chosen or selected)

pick (the act of choosing or selecting)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Harass with constant criticism

Example:

Don't always pick on your little brother

Synonyms:

blame; find fault; pick

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

criticise; criticize; knock; pick apart (find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 5

Meaning:

Eat intermittently; take small bites of

Example:

She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles

Synonyms:

nibble; pick; piece

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

eat (take in solid food)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Hit lightly with a picking motion

Synonyms:

beak; peck; pick

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

strike (deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 7

Meaning:

Look for and gather

Example:

pick flowers

Synonyms:

cull; pick; pluck

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

collect; garner; gather; pull together (assemble or get together)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pick"):

mushroom (pick or gather mushrooms)

berry (pick or gather berries)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Also:

pick off (pull or pull out sharply)

pick over (separate or remove)

pick up (get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally)

pick up (give a passenger or a hitchhiker a lift)

pick up (register (perceptual input))

pick up (perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily)

Derivation:

picking (the act of picking (crops or fruit or hops etc.))

picker (someone who gathers crops or fruits etc.)

pick (the quantity of a crop that is harvested)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example

Example:

Pick open the ice

Synonyms:

break up; pick

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

pierce (cut or make a way through)

"Pick" entails doing...:

chop; hack (cut with a hacking tool)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pick (a heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion

Example:

he plucked the strings of his mandolin

Synonyms:

pick; pluck; plunk

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

draw; pull (cause to move by pulling)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pick"):

twang (pluck (strings of an instrument))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

pick (a small thin device (of metal or plastic or ivory) used to pluck a stringed instrument)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Provoke

Example:

pick a fight or a quarrel

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

call forth; evoke; kick up; provoke (evoke or provoke to appear or occur)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 11

Meaning:

Pay for something

Example:

foot the bill

Synonyms:

foot; pick

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

pay (give money, usually in exchange for goods or services)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 12

Meaning:

Pilfer or rob

Example:

pick pockets

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pick" is one way to...):

rob (take something away by force or without the consent of the owner)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pickings (the act of someone who picks up or takes something)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The water picks up breast cells, and is removed.

(Breast Duct Lavage, NCI Dictionary)

Then I fancy we have seen him, for the day before we picked you up we saw some dogs drawing a sledge, with a man in it, across the ice.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

I don't know how it is, said Peggotty, unless it's on account of being stupid, but my head never can pick and choose its people.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“Most likely Trelawney's own men,” said the doctor; “those he had picked up for himself before he lit on Silver.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Pick foods that are low in cholesterol and fat, especially saturated and trans fats.

(Nutrition for Seniors, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

Oh! Harriet may pick and chuse.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

They are synthesized in the liver as empty proteins and they pick up cholesterol and increase in size as they circulate through the bloodstream.

(High Density Lipoprotein, NCI Thesaurus)

Skin findings arising from repeated rubbing, picking or scratching of a real or imagined irritation of the skin.

(Neurodermatitis, NCI Thesaurus)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient engage in repetitive activities such as handling buttons, picking, wrapping string, etc.?

(NPI - Engage in Repetitive Activities, NCI Thesaurus)

With the aid of computers, scientists were able to pick out more than 170,000 active supermassive black holes from the WISE data.

(NASA's WISE findings poke hole in black hole 'Doughnut' theory, NASA)

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