pick

Universal Words verb, noun verb 1 to choose sb/sth from a group of people or things: [VN] Pick a number from one to twenty. * She picked the best cake for herself. * He picked his words carefully. * Have I picked a bad time to talk to you? * [VNtoinf] He has been picked to play in this week's game. seealsoHAND-PICKED 2 [VN] to take flowers, fruit, etc. from the plant or the tree where they are growing: to pick grapes / cotton * flowers freshly picked from the garden * to go blackberry picking 3 to pull or remove sth or small pieces of sth from sth else, especially with your fingers: [VN, +adv./prep.] She picked bits of fluff from his sweater. * He picked the nuts off the top of the cake. * [VN] to pick your nose (= put your finger inside your nose to remove dried MUCUS) * to pick your teeth (= use a small sharp piece of wood to remove pieces of food from your teeth) * [VN-ADJ] The dogs picked the bones clean (= ate all the meat from the bones). 4 [V, VN] (AmE) = PLUCK(3) IDIOMS pick and choose to choose only those things that you like or want very much: You have to take any job you can get-you can't pick and choose. pick sb's brains (informal) to ask sb a lot of questions about sth because they know more about the subject than you do pick a fight / quarrel (with sb) to deliberately start a fight or an argument with sb: He had drunk too much and was ready to pick a fight with anyone who crossed his path. pick holes in sth to find the weak points in sth such as a plan, suggestion, etc: It was easy to pick holes in his arguments. pick a lock to open a lock without a key, using sth such as a piece of wire: The burglars must have picked the lock on the back door. pick sb's pocket to steal sth from sb's pocket without them noticing: The back pocket on a pair of jeans is the easiest one to pick. relatednounPICKPOCKET pick up the bill, tab, etc. (for sth) (informal) to pay for sth: The company picked up the tab for his hotel room. * The government will continue to pick up college fees for some students. pick up the pieces to return or to help sb return to a normal situation, particularly after a shock or a disaster: You cannot live your children's lives for them; you can only be there to pick up the pieces when things go wrong. pick up speed to go faster: The train began to pick up speed. pick up the threads to return to an earlier situation or way of life after an interruption pick your way (across, along, among, over, through sth) to walk carefully, choosing the safest, driest, etc. place to put your feet: She picked her way delicately over the rough ground. pick a winner 1 to choose a horse, etc. that you think is most likely to win a race 2 (informal) to make a very good choice moreatBONEn., PIECEn., SHREDn. PHRASALVERBS pick at sth 1 to eat food slowly, taking small amounts or bites because you are not hungry: She sat at the table in silence, picking at her dinner. 2 to pull or touch sth several times: He tried to undo the knot by picking at it with his fingers. pick sb<->off (informal) to aim carefully at a person, an animal or an aircraft, especially one of a group, and then shoot them: Snipers were picking off innocent civilians. pick sth<->off to remove sth from sth such as a tree, a plant, etc: Pick off all the dead leaves. pick on sb/sth 1 to treat sb unfairly, by blaming, criticizing or punishing them: She was picked on by the other girls because of her size. 2 to choose sb/sth: He picked on two of her statements which he said were untrue. pick sb/sth<->out 1 to choose sb/sth carefully from a group of people or things: She was picked out from dozens of applicants for the job. * He picked out the ripest peach for me. 2 to recognize sb/sth from among other people or things: See if you can pick me out in this photo. * We couldn't pick out any familiar landmarks. pick sth<->out 1 to play a tune on a musical instrument slowly without using written music: He picked out the tune on the piano with one finger. 2 to discover or recognize sth after careful study: Read the play again and pick out the major themes. 3 to make sth easy to see or hear: a sign painted cream, with the lettering picked out in black * The car lights picked out a cat running across the road. pick sth<->over