pick

noun

A tool used for digging; a pickaxe.

(nautical, slang) An anchor.

A pointed hammer used for dressing millstones.

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

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

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

A choice; ability to choose.

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

(Australia) Pasture; feed, for animals.

(basketball) A screen.

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

(American football) An interception.

(baseball) A good defensive play by an infielder.

(baseball) A pickoff.

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

(weaving) 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.

A surname.

(printing, dated) 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.

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

verb

To grasp and pull with the fingers or fingernails.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

(cricket) 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.

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

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

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

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

To steal; to pilfer.

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

(basketball) To screen.

(American football, informal) To intercept a pass from the offense as a defensive player.

(dated, transitive) 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.

(obsolete) To throw; to pitch.

Synonyms for pick

plectronn pluckv selectionn plectrumn choicen pickaxn handpick choosev cullv selectv optionn chosenn nibblev electv peckv

Synonyms & related words for pick

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of pick — including plectron, pluck, selection, plectrum, choice, pickax. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to pick

Explore words related to pick — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include unpicked, selectness, chose, chooser, selectee, bushhammer, reselect, pickings. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for pick

Common synonyms for pick include plectron, pluck, selection, plectrum, choice, pickax, handpick, choose — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.