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pick

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //ˈpɪk// UK //pˈɪk// pick Archaic General-service Informal Slang

n. the person or thing that you choose from a group. It can also mean a small, flat tool you use to play the strings of a guitar.

n. the act of choosing or the person or thing selected as the best or most appropriate. In a musical context, it refers to a plectrum used for plucking strings.


SIMPLE

This blue shirt is my top pick for the party.

CONTEXTUAL

The coach announced his final pick for the starting lineup just minutes before the game began.

COMPLEX

While the critic's first pick for the award was a low-budget indie film, the rest of the committee favored the big-studio blockbuster for its technical achievements.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English piken, picken, pikken, from Old English piccian, pīcian (attested in pīcung (“a pricking”)), and pīcan, pȳcan (“to pick, prick, pluck”), both from Proto-West Germanic pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic pikkōną (“to pick, peck, prick, knock”), from Proto-Indo-European bew-, bu- (“to make a dull, hollow sound”). Doublet of pitch and peck. Cognate with Dutch pikken (“to pick”), German picken (“to pick, peck”), Old Norse pikka, pjakka (whence Icelandic pikka (“to pick, prick”), Swedish picka (“to pick, peck”)). Compare also German Low German puken (“to pick out, rip out, pull away, extract”).

Usage

Often used in the phrase 'take your pick' to mean choose whatever you want.

Idioms21 entries

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