pick
select carefully from a group
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,364 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 7,319 times across 175,160 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
verb
- select carefully from a group She finally picked her successorHe picked his way carefully
- look for and gather also: pluck, cull pick mushroomspick flowers
- harass with constant criticism also: blame, find fault Don't always pick on your little brother
- provoke pick a fight or a quarrel
- remove in small bits pick meat from a bone
- remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits also: clean Clean the turkey
pick in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
The Courage of the Commonplace · Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews · Chapter 1
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He took up his pick again and notched foot-holes in each side of the yellow ditch.
The Heart of the Hills · John, Jr. Fox · Chapter 1
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My pail was nearly full of excellent berries, much better than the bear could pick himself.
In the Wilderness · Charles Dudley Warner · Chapter 1
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He was an A.B., too, and that showed 'ow good-natured he was, to pick up with firemen.
Bill's Lapse Odd Craft, Part 4. · W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs · Chapter 1
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Johnston was a few yards ahead of him and stooped to pick up something glittering in the moonlight.
The Land of the Changing Sun · Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben · Chapter 1