pick

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A tool used for digging

   A tool used for digging; a pickaxe.

2. 2

   An anchor.

   • It's better to amble around, drop the "pick" for a lunchtime swim or beachcomb, then find a nice anchorage for the night.
3. 3

   A pointed hammer used for dressing millstones.

4. ›+ 34 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A tool for unlocking a lock without the original key

      A tool for unlocking a lock without the original key; a lock pick, picklock.

   2. 5

      A comb with long widely spaced teeth, for use with tightly curled hair.

   3. 6

      A tool used for strumming the strings of a guitar

      A tool used for strumming the strings of a guitar; a plectrum.

   4. 7

      A pike or spike

      A pike or spike; the sharp point fixed in the center of a buckler.

      • Take down my buckler […] and grind the pick on 't.
   5. 8

      A choice

      A choice; ability to choose.

      • France and Russia have the pick of our stables.
   6. 9

      That which would be picked or chosen first

      That which would be picked or chosen first; the best.

   7. 10

      Pasture

      Pasture; feed, for animals.

      • ‘She's all African grass and Brahmans. There's not a blade of native pick left, except on the ridges.’
      • The judicious use of fire could have protected valuable nut trees, promoted the growth and seeding of grass and, if practised at a distance from their camps, even attracted herbivores to the sweet young pick.
   8. 11

      A screen.

   9. 12

      An offensive tactic in which a player stands so as to block a defender from reaching a…

      An offensive tactic in which a player stands so as to block a defender from reaching a teammate.

   10. 13

       An interception.

   11. 14

       A good defensive play by an infielder.

   12. 15

       A pickoff.

   13. 16

       A particle of ink or paper embedded in the hollow of a letter, filling up its face, and…

       A particle of ink or paper embedded in the hollow of a letter, filling up its face, and causing a spot on a printed sheet.

   14. 17

       That which is picked in, as with a pointed pencil, to correct an unevenness in a picture.

   15. 18

       The blow that drives the shuttle, used in calculating the speed of a loom (in picks per…

       The blow that drives the shuttle, used in calculating the speed of a loom (in picks per minute); hence, in describing the fineness of a fabric, a weft thread.

       • so many picks to an inch
   16. 19

       To grasp and pull with the fingers or fingernails.

       • Don't pick at that scab.
       • He picked his nose.
   17. 20

       To harvest a fruit or vegetable for consumption by removing it from the plant to which it…

       To harvest a fruit or vegetable for consumption by removing it from the plant to which it is attached; to harvest an entire plant by removing it from the ground.

       • It's time to pick the tomatoes.
   18. 21

       To pull apart or away, especially with the fingers

       To pull apart or away, especially with the fingers; to pluck.

       • She picked flowers in the meadow.
       • to pick feathers from a fowl
   19. 22

       To take up

       To take up; especially, to gather from here and there; to collect; to bring together.

       • to pick rags
   20. 23

       To remove something from somewhere with a pointed instrument, with the fingers, or with…

       To remove something from somewhere with a pointed instrument, with the fingers, or with the teeth.

       • to pick the teeth; to pick a bone; to pick a goose; to pick a pocket
       • Did you pick Master Slender's purse?
       • He picks clean teeth, and, busy as he seems / With an old tavern quill, is hungry yet.
   21. 24

       To decide upon, from a set of options

       To decide upon, from a set of options; to select.

       • I'll pick the one with the nicest name.
   22. 25

       To seek (a fight or quarrel) where the opportunity arises.

   23. 26

       To recognise the type of ball being bowled by a bowler by studying the position of the…

       To recognise the type of ball being bowled by a bowler by studying the position of the hand and arm as the ball is released.

       • He didn't pick the googly, and was bowled.
   24. 27

       To pluck the individual strings of a musical instrument or to play such an instrument.

       • He picked a tune on his banjo.
   25. 28

       To open (a lock) with a wire, lock pick, etc.

       • The lock was of a kind that Watt could not pick. Watt could pick simple locks, but he could not pick obscure locks.
   26. 29

       To eat slowly, sparingly, or by morsels

       To eat slowly, sparingly, or by morsels; to nibble.

       • Why stand'st thou picking? Is thy palate sore?
   27. 30

       To do anything fastidiously or carefully, or by attending to small things

       To do anything fastidiously or carefully, or by attending to small things; to select something with care.

       • I gingerly picked my way between the thorny shrubs.
   28. 31

       To steal

       To steal; to pilfer.

       • to keep my hands from picking and stealing
   29. 32

       To throw

       To throw; to pitch.

       • as high as I could pick my lance
   30. 33

       To peck at, as a bird with its beak

       To peck at, as a bird with its beak; to strike at with anything pointed; to act upon with a pointed instrument; to pierce; to prick, as with a pin.

   31. 34

       To separate or open by means of a sharp point or points.

       • to pick matted wool, cotton, oakum, etc.
       • Naphtha lamps shed a weird light over a busy scene, for the work was being continued night and day. A score or so of sturdy navvies were shovelling and picking along the track.
   32. 35

       To screen.

   33. 36

       To intercept a pass from the offense as a defensive player.

       • The pass was almost picked, but the tight end was able to hold on.
   34. 37

       A surname.

The neighborhood

• neighbormattock