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What does PICK mean?

Definitions for PICK
pɪkpick

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word PICK.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. choice, pick, selectionnoun

    the person or thing chosen or selected

    "he was my pick for mayor"

  2. picking, picknoun

    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"

  3. cream, picknoun

    the best people or things in a group

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

  4. woof, weft, filling, picknoun

    the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving

  5. pick, plectrum, plectronnoun

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

  6. picknoun

    a thin sharp implement used for removing unwanted material

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

  7. pick, pickax, pickaxenoun

    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"

  8. picknoun

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

    "he was called for setting an illegal pick"

  9. choice, selection, option, pickverb

    the act of choosing or selecting

    "your choice of colors was unfortunate"; "you can take your pick"

  10. pickverb

    select carefully from a group

    "She finally picked her successor"; "He picked his way carefully"

  11. pick, pluck, cullverb

    look for and gather

    "pick mushrooms"; "pick flowers"

  12. blame, find fault, pickverb

    harass with constant criticism

    "Don't always pick on your little brother"

  13. pickverb

    provoke

    "pick a fight or a quarrel"

  14. pickverb

    remove in small bits

    "pick meat from a bone"

  15. clean, pickverb

    remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits

    "Clean the turkey"

  16. pickverb

    pilfer or rob

    "pick pockets"

  17. foot, pickverb

    pay for something

    "pick up the tab"; "pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages"; "foot the bill"

  18. pluck, plunk, pickverb

    pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion

    "he plucked the strings of his mandolin"

  19. pick, break upverb

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

    "Pick open the ice"

  20. peck, pick, beakverb

    hit lightly with a picking motion

  21. nibble, pick, pieceverb

    eat intermittently; take small bites of

    "He pieced at the sandwich all morning"; "She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles"

GCIDE

  1. Picknoun

    Choice; right of selection; as, to have one's pick; in cat breeding, the owner of a stud gets the pick of the litter.

Wiktionary

  1. picknoun

    A tool used for digging; a pickaxe.

  2. picknoun

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

  3. picknoun

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

  4. picknoun

    A choice.

  5. picknoun

    A screen

  6. picknoun

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

  7. picknoun

    An interception.

  8. picknoun

    A good defensive play by an infielder

  9. picknoun

    Short for pick-off

  10. pickverb

    To grasp and pull with the fingers or fingernails.

  11. pickverb

    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.

  12. pickverb

    To decide between options.

    I'll pick the one with the nicest name.

  13. pickverb

    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.

  14. pickverb

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

    He picked a tune on his banjo.

  15. picknoun

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

  16. Etymology: From picken, pikken, from *, pycan, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pikken, picken, pikka.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Picknoun

    A sharp-pointed iron tool.

    What the miners call chert and whern, the stone-cutters nicomia, is so hard, that the picks will not touch it; it will not split but irregularly. John Woodward, on Fossils.

  2. To Pickverb

    Etymology: picken, Dutch.

    This fellow picks up wit as pigeons peas. William Shakespeare.

    He hath pick’d out an act,
    Under whose heavy sense your brother’s life
    Falls into forfeit. William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure.

    Trust me, sweet,
    Out of this silence yet I pick’d a welcome;
    And in the modesty of fearful duty
    I read as much, as from the rattling tongue
    Of saucy and audacious eloquence. William Shakespeare.

    Contempt putteth an edge upon anger more than the hurt itself; and when men are ingenious in picking out circumstances of contempt, they do kindle their anger much. Francis Bacon.

    The want of many things fed him with hope, that he should out of these his enemies distresses pick some fit occasion of advantage. Richard Knolles, History of the Turks.

    They must pick me out with shackles tir’d,
    To make them sport with blind activity. John Milton.

    What made thee pick and chuse her out,
    T’ employ their sorceries about? Hudibras.

    How many examples have we seen of men that have been picked up and relieved out of starving necessities, afterwards conspire against their patrons. Roger L'Estrange.

    If he would compound for half, it should go hard but he’d make a shift to pick it up. Roger L'Estrange.

    A painter would not be much commended, who should pick out this cavern from the whole Æneids; he had better leave them in their obscurity. Dryden.

    Imitate the bees, who pick from every flower that which they find most proper to make honey. Dryden.

    He that is nourished by the acorns he picked up under an oak in the wood, has certainly appropriated them to himself. John Locke.

    He asked his friends about him, where they had picked up such a blockhead. Joseph Addison, Spectator, №. 167.

    The will may pick and chuse among these objects, but it cannot create any to work on. George Cheyne, Philosophical Principles.

    Deep through a miry lane she pick’d her way,
    Above her ankle rose the chalky clay. John Gay.

    Thus much he may be able to pick out, and willing to transfer into his new history; but the rest of your character will probably be dropped, on account of the antiquated stile they are delivered in. Jonathan Swift.

    Heav’n, when it strives to polish all it can
    Its last, best work, but forms a softer man,
    Picks from each sex, to make the fav’rite blest, Alexander Pope.

    You owe me money, Sir John, and now you pick a quarrel to beguile me of it. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.

    It was believed, that Perkin’s escape was not without the king’s privity, who had him all the time of his flight in a line; and that the king did this, to pick a quarrel to put him to death. Francis Bacon, Henry VII.

    They are as peevish company to themselves as to their neighbours; for there’s not one circumstance in nature, but they shall find matters to pick a quarrel at. Roger L'Estrange.

    Pick the very refuse of those harvest fields. James Thomson.

    For private friends: his answer was,
    He could not stay to pick them in a pile
    Of musty chaff. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

    It hath been noted by the ancients, that it is dangerous to pick one’s ears whilst he yawneth; for that in yawning, the minor parchment of the ear is extended by the drawing of the breath. Francis Bacon, Natural History.

    He picks and culls his thoughts for conversation, by suppressing some, and communicating others. Addison.

    You are not to wash your hands, till you have picked your sallad. Jonathan Swift.

    Hope is a pleasant premeditation of enjoyment; as when a dog expects, till his master has done picking a bone. More.

    Pick an apple with a pin full of holes not deep, and smear it with spirits, to see if the virtual heat of the strong waters will not mature it. Francis Bacon.

    In the face, a small wart or fiery pustule, being healed by scratching or picking with nails, will terminate corrosive. Richard Wiseman, Surgery.

    The eye that mocketh at his father, the ravens of the valley shall pick out. Proverbs xxx. 17.

    The other night I fell asleep here, and had my pocket pickt; this house is turn’d bawdy-house, they pick pockets. William Shakespeare.

    They have a design upon your pocket, and the word conscience is used only as an instrument to pick it. South.

    Did you ever find
    That any art could pick the lock, or power
    Could force it open. John Denham.

  3. To Pickverb

    Why stand’st thou picking? is thy palate sore,
    That bete and radishes will make thee roar. Dryden.

    He was too warm on picking work to dwell,
    But faggoted his notions as they fell,
    And if they rhym’d and rattl’d, all was well. Dryden.

ChatGPT

  1. pick

    To pick can have several meanings, including: 1) To choose or select from a group or range of possibilities. 2) To gather or collect, like picking fruits or vegetables. 3) To remove something, like picking dirt off a shirt or picking a lock. 4) To play a stringed instrument by plucking its strings with one's fingers or a pick (e.g., guitar). 5) To poke or prod at something, like picking a wound. 6) In sports, such as basketball or football, a type of play where one player blocks an opponent to free a teammate for a shot or a pass. Note: The meaning of 'pick' usually depends on its context.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Pick

    to throw; to pitch

  2. Pick

    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

  3. Pick

    to separate or open by means of a sharp point or points; as, to pick matted wool, cotton, oakum, etc

  4. Pick

    to open (a lock) as by a wire

  5. Pick

    to pull apart or away, especially with the fingers; to pluck; to gather, as fruit from a tree, flowers from the stalk, feathers from a fowl, etc

  6. Pick

    to remove something from with a pointed instrument, with the fingers, or with the teeth; as, to pick the teeth; to pick a bone; to pick a goose; to pick a pocket

  7. Pick

    to choose; to select; to separate as choice or desirable; to cull; as, to pick one's company; to pick one's way; -- often with out

  8. Pick

    to take up; esp., to gather from here and there; to collect; to bring together; as, to pick rags; -- often with up; as, to pick up a ball or stones; to pick up information

  9. Pick

    to trim

  10. Pickverb

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

  11. Pickverb

    to do anything nicely or carefully, or by attending to small things; to select something with care

  12. Pickverb

    to steal; to pilfer

  13. Picknoun

    a sharp-pointed tool for picking; -- often used in composition; as, a toothpick; a picklock

  14. Picknoun

    a heavy iron tool, curved and sometimes pointed at both ends, wielded by means of a wooden handle inserted in the middle, -- used by quarrymen, roadmakers, etc.; also, a pointed hammer used for dressing millstones

  15. Picknoun

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

  16. Picknoun

    choice; right of selection; as, to have one's pick

  17. Picknoun

    that which would be picked or chosen first; the best; as, the pick of the flock

  18. Picknoun

    a particle of ink or paper imbedded in the hollow of a letter, filling up its face, and occasioning a spot on a printed sheet

  19. Picknoun

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

  20. Picknoun

    the blow which drives the shuttle, -- the rate of speed of a loom being reckoned as so many picks per minute; hence, in describing the fineness of a fabric, a weft thread; as, so many picks to an inch

  21. Etymology: [OE. picken, pikken, to prick, peck; akin to Icel. pikka, Sw. picka, Dan. pikke, D. pikken, G. picken, F. piquer, W. pigo. Cf. Peck, v., Pike, Pitch to throw.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Pick

    pik, v.t. to prick with a sharp-pointed instrument: to peck, as a bird: to pierce: to open with a pointed instrument, as a lock: to pluck or gather, as flowers, &c.: to separate or pull apart: to clean with the teeth: to gather: to choose: to select: to call: to seek, as a quarrel: to steal.—v.i. to do anything carefully: to eat by morsels.—n. any sharp-pointed instrument, esp. for loosening and breaking up hard soil, &c.: a picklock: foul matter collecting on printing-types, &c.: right or opportunity of first choice.—n. Pick′-cheese, the blue titmouse: the fruit of the mallow.—adj. Picked (pikt), selected, hence the choicest or best: having spines or prickles, sharp-pointed.—ns. Pick′edness; Pick′er, one who picks or gathers up: one who removes defects from and finishes electrotype plates: a pilferer; Pick′ing, the act of picking, selecting, gathering, pilfering: that which is left to be picked: dabbing in stone-working: the final finishing of woven fabrics by removing burs, &c.: removing defects from electrotype plates; Pick′lock, an instrument for picking or opening locks; Pick′-me-up, a stimulating drink; Pick′pocket, one who picks or steals from other people's pockets; Pick′-purse, one who steals the purse or from the purse of another.—adj. Pick′some, given to picking and choosing.—n. Pick′-thank, an officious person who does what he is not desired to do in order to gain favour: a flatterer: a parasite.—v.t. to gain favour by unworthy means.—Pick a hole in one's coat, to find fault with one; Pick a quarrel, to find an occasion of quarrelling; Pick at, to find fault with; Pick fault, to seek occasions of fault-finding; Pick oakum, to make oakum by untwisting old ropes; Pick off, to aim at and kill or wound, as with a rifle; Pick one's way, to move carefully; Pick out, to make out: to mark with spots of colour, &c.; Pick to pieces, to tear asunder: to damage, as character; Pick up, to improve gradually: to gain strength bit by bit: to take into a vehicle, or into one's company: to get as if by chance.—adj. gathered together by chance. [Celt., as Gael. pioc, to pick, W. pigo; cf. Pike.]

Suggested Resources

  1. PICK

    What does PICK stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the PICK acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Entomology

  1. Pick

    a chitinous maxillary structure in Psocidae.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. PICK

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pick is ranked #9451 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Pick surname appeared 3,442 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Pick.

    89.4% or 3,077 total occurrences were White.
    5.8% or 202 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    2.4% or 84 total occurrences were Asian.
    1% or 35 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.7% or 25 total occurrences were Black.
    0.5% or 19 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'PICK' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2355

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'PICK' in Written Corpus Frequency: #510

  3. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'PICK' in Verbs Frequency: #151

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce PICK?

How to say PICK in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of PICK in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of PICK in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of PICK in a Sentence

  1. Lewis Hamilton:

    I'm not that quick, to be honest, but tomorrow I hope I can pick up the pace. Nico is much, much quicker today. I have to try to find that.

  2. Mandy Moore:

    Now that she's living out in California and she's very close to Kate and Toby. I think it's all going to be okay, maybe Kate will be surprised at how Rebecca can sort of lean back when she can pick up on cues a little bit better. I think just the simple fact that they're going to be closer is sweet.

  3. Gil Garcetti:

    Marcia Clark The lead prosecutor is a very good lawyer, but one of the things with Marcia Clark The lead prosecutor was that Marcia Clark The lead prosecutor did n’t heed the advice of our trial consultant who told Marcia Clark The lead prosecutor not to pick African-American women — particularly black mothers — for that jury, marcia Clark The lead prosecutor did n’t listen and once Marcia Clark The lead prosecutor did that, there was no chance that we ’d get a guilty verdict, although I still thought we ’d get two or three jurors to hold out for a hung jury.

  4. Matt Stanley:

    Liquidity on 0.5% marine fuel will gradually pick up over the course of the coming weeks as transparency increases.

  5. John McEnroe:

    Djokovic has had great success in Australia, he's won it six times, and the way he finished last year it's hard not to say it'll be him, federer has positioned himself to have a good run. It's hard to pick.

more sentences »

Popularity rank by frequency of use

PICK#1#2096#10000

References

Translations for PICK

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • قطف او يقطفArabic
  • picCatalan, Valencian
  • trsátko, krumpáčCzech
  • чєсатиOld Church Slavonic, Church Slavonic, Old Bulgarian
  • plukkeDanish
  • Dietrich, Plektron, Hacke, Pickel, Plektrum, pflückenGerman
  • ganzúa, picoSpanish
  • کلنگPersian
  • plektra, valinta, valita, harva, kampa, hakku, tonkia, poimia, tiirikka, lukeaFinnish
  • médiator, écran, choisir, cueillir, pioche, prendre, choixFrench
  • քլունգ, բրիչArmenian
  • lesaIcelandic
  • piccone, barriera, prendere, scegliere, raccogliere, scelta, plettro, stuzzicadentiItalian
  • つるはしJapanese
  • whawhaki, whakiwhaki, tāhoraMāori
  • трнокоп, копачMacedonian
  • krabben, plukken, kiezen, nemenDutch
  • plukke, dirk, pilke, plekter, velge, valg, hakkeNorwegian
  • escolher, colher, picareta, pegarPortuguese
  • p'itiyQuechua
  • выбирать, сорва́ть, отмы́чка, плектр, медиа́тор, вы́бор, собира́ть, срыва́ть, кайло́, выбра́ть, собра́ть, выбира́ть, рва́ть, кирка́Russian
  • hacka, välja, plockaSwedish
  • mızrap, tezene, pena, çilingir, kazma, seçmek, çalgıçTurkish

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