choice
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.the act of picking between different things, or the possibility of picking.
n.the act of choosing or selecting; the opportunity or privilege of choosing between alternatives.
Simple“You have a choice between the red shirt and the blue one.”
In context“Faced with several attractive career paths, she found that making a final choice was more difficult than she had anticipated.”
UsageOften used with the prepositions 'between' or 'of'.
- 02 A2 Elementary
n.the person or thing that you have picked from a group.
n.the person or thing chosen; the object of a selection process.
Simple“The steak was a great choice; it tasted delicious.”
In context“The committee's choice for the new director surprised many, as he was the least experienced candidate on the shortlist.”
Synonyms - 03 B1 Intermediate
n.a number of different things that you can pick from.
n.a range or variety from which to select.
Simple“The shop has a wide choice of greeting cards for every occasion.”
In context“The university offers a vast choice of elective modules, allowing students to tailor their degree to their specific interests.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
adj.of very high quality or carefully picked as the best.
adj.of very high quality; selected with care and discrimination.
Simple“The chef used only the most choice cuts of meat for the banquet.”
In context“The speaker used a few choice words to describe the government's failure to address the housing crisis.”
UsageCommonly used in the phrase 'choice words' to mean sarcastic or well-chosen insults.
Usage alternative choice · multiple choice · optimal choice
From Middle English chois, from Old French chois (“choice”), from choisir (“to choose, perceive”), possibly via assumed Vulgar Latin causīre (“to choose”), from Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (kausjan, “to make a choice, taste, test, choose”), from Proto-Germanic kauzijaną, from keusaną (“to choose”), from Proto-Indo-European ǵews- (“to choose”). Akin to Old High German kiosan (“to choose”), Old English ċēosan (“to choose”), Old Norse kjósa (“to choose”). More at choose.
From Middle English choys, from a merger of the noun above and Middle English chyse, chuse, chys, chis (“choice, excellent”), from Old English ċīes (“choice; dainty; nice”), related to Old English ċēosan (“to choose”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.