pick

Noun

• the act of choosing or selecting
  • your choice of colors was unfortunate
    
  • you can take your pick
    

• a basketball maneuver; obstructing an opponent with one's body
  • he was called for setting an illegal pick
    

• a heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends
  • they used picks and sledges to break the rocks
    

• a thin sharp implement used for removing unwanted material
  • he used a pick to clean the dirt out of the cracks
    

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

• the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving

• the best people or things in a group
  • the cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War
    

• the quantity of a crop that is harvested
  • he sent the first picking of berries to the market
    
  • it was the biggest peach pick in years
    

• the person or thing chosen or selected
  • he was my pick for mayor
    

Verb

• eat intermittently; take small bites of
  • He pieced at the sandwich all morning
    
  • She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles
    

• hit lightly with a picking motion

• attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example
  • Pick open the ice
    

• pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion
  • he plucked the strings of his mandolin
    

• pay for something
  • pick up the tab
    
  • pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages
    
  • foot the bill
    

• pilfer or rob
  • pick pockets
    

• remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits
  • Clean the turkey
    

• remove in small bits
  • pick meat from a bone
    

• provoke
  • pick a fight or a quarrel
    

• harass with constant criticism
  • Don't always pick on your little brother
    

• look for and gather
  • pick mushrooms
    
  • pick flowers
    

• select carefully from a group
  • She finally picked her successor
    
  • He picked his way carefully
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  choice , selection , option , pickax , pickaxe , plectrum , plectron , woof , weft , filling , cream , picking , nibble , piece , peck , beak , break up , pluck , plunk , foot , clean , blame , find fault , cull