# picked

/ˈpɪkt/ (US) · /pˈɪkt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/picked
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. chose or selected

verb · CEFR A2

chose someone or something from a group.

For teachers: selected a particular person or thing from a larger set of options.

- The coach picked her to be the captain of the team because of her leadership.
- The committee picked the most qualified candidate after reviewing dozens of impressive applications from across the country.

### 2. harvested

verb · CEFR A2

took fruit, flowers, or vegetables from where they were growing.

For teachers: removed a flower, fruit, or vegetable from its stem or place of growth.

- We picked a basket of fresh apples from the trees in the garden.
- The farmworkers picked the grapes by hand to ensure that only the ripest clusters were sent to the winery.

### 3. carefully chosen

adjective · CEFR B2

describes something that was chosen very carefully because it is the best.

For teachers: carefully selected for a specific quality or purpose; often used in the phrase 'hand-picked'.

- The shop only sells picked tomatoes that are perfectly ripe.
- The team consisted of a few picked experts who were brought in specifically to solve the technical crisis.

### 4. played with fingers/pick

adjective · CEFR B2

played on a musical instrument by pulling the strings with your fingers or a small tool.

For teachers: describes a style of playing stringed instruments where individual strings are plucked rather than strummed.

- The song features a beautiful picked guitar melody in the background.
- The folk singer used a picked style that allowed the delicate melody to stand out against the soft vocals.

## Examples

- She picked a red apple from the tree.
- The manager picked the most experienced candidate for the new role after interviewing several people.
- While the children picked wild berries along the fence, the adults debated which route would lead them back to the trailhead before sunset.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.