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to pick

to pick

12 3.2
To pluck instrument strings with fingers or a small tool
  • verb
  • /pɪk/
: puntear
  • "The bartender, who had been totally motionless, picked up a glass and began wiping it absently."
  • pick up an instrument

You pick one finger, pick with another finger, pick with the thumb.

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Examples

  • And there was this beautiful little girl running down the beach picking up the starfish.

  • You pick one finger, pick with another finger, pick with the thumb.

  • I still play, but Peter has never picked up a violin since we left Germany.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • When they'd gone farther still, Islief bent to pick up something from the ground.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Storm curiously turns his back on Trent for a moment to pick up handcuffs off the floor.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Julin Ocoa, beneath an evergreen tree, has picked up his violin and is playing: Debussy's Petite Suite.

    Academic text (2007)
  • He loves to pick the strings of his guitar to create beautiful melodies.

  • She learned to pick the violin expertly, making it sound like a professional performance.

  • He decided to pick a few notes on the piano before going to bed.

Synonyms

to pluck
vsto pick
125 3.5

To pull something out quickly with the fingers

is used only for making sound from instrument strings rather than any quick pull
to strum
vsto pick
20 3.7

To play a string instrument by sweeping fingers or a pick across the strings in a steady rhythm

means pulling individual strings with fingers or a small tool rather than sweeping
to pick at
vsto pick
14 3.8

Pull at something with your fingers again and again, often nervously

describes a single intentional action to make instrument sounds
1 3.9

Gently pull and release a string on an instrument like a guitar or harp to make a sound

is broader and includes using fingers or a small tool to play strings
to plunk
vsto pick
1 6.7

To pull a string lightly to make a short musical note

is broader covering varied force and methods to play strings

Antonyms

To stop doing an activity, especially to stop playing music for good

Idioms

Choose any one you want from the options

Challenge someone of similar size or strength instead of someone weaker

6 3.7

The best or most wanted one in a group, like the strongest puppy

1 8.6

To accept a challenge and try to meet it

1 5.8

To choose which problems to deal with instead of trying to solve every problem

Leave a meeting or project because you are upset

To get better after a failure and start again

To leave a group or activity because you do not get your way

Phrasal Verbs

∞ 2.5

To get something from a store or give someone a ride

∞ 1.0

To lift something or someone from the ground with your hands

776 2.6

To learn or notice something often by chance

303 2.0

Choose one person or thing from a group

to pick on
  • Informal
201 3.5

To say mean things to someone again and again because they seem weaker

198 3.0

To get better or stronger

185 3.9

To notice something that is not obvious

to pick up
  • Informal
114 3.9

To take someone to the police because they are suspected of a crime

71 3.0

Notice a sound or sight among other things

to pick up
  • NSFW
45 8.2

To meet someone to start a romantic or sexual relationship

to cherry-pick
  • Informal
37 6.3

To choose only the best people or things for yourself

to pick off
  • Offensive
36 8.0

Shoot and kill opponents one by one from a hidden place

34 2.8

To pay for something, often for someone else

25 4.3

Pull things away one at a time

25 3.8

To choose carefully by yourself for a special purpose

To move or work faster

21 3.8

To ask someone for ideas or advice about something they know well

to pick apart
  • Informal
17 5.2

To find faults in ideas or work by pointing out small problems

14 3.8

Pull at something with your fingers again and again, often nervously

10 5.7

Keep finding small faults in someone or their ideas

9 7.7

To open a lock without a key by using tools

4 3.6

To look through items carefully to choose the best or remove bad ones

3 3.4

To show a color or detail from another thing

2 7.0

Choose only data that supports an idea and ignore data that disagrees

2 4.6

Eat very small amounts of food when not feeling hungry

To start an earlier activity or conversation again after an interruption

Touching scabs again and again so they do not heal, sometimes meaning you reopen old hurts

to cherry-pick
  • Specialized
1 6.5

To copy one change from a code branch into another without copying other changes

1 4.0

To eat small bits of food by pecking like a bird

1 7.8

To put a needle into dropped or unfinished loops to fix knitting

1 4.2

Do something slowly and without interest, often doing only small parts

1 5.3

To put a finger in your nose to remove mucus

Compounds

25 3.5

A metal tool with a sharp point that you use to break blocks of ice

16 4.2

A drink or small activity that makes you feel more energetic when tired

5 2.9

A small flat piece for plucking or strumming guitar strings

pick-off
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A play where the pitcher or catcher throws quickly to tag a runner off base

A player chosen by a team's captain to play in a game

1 7.9

A small hooked tool to clean mud and stones from a horse's hoof

nose-pick
  • Offensive
1 8.6

Putting a finger inside your nose or a person who does this

Niemann-Pick disease
  • Specialized
1 9.8

A rare disease passed from parents that makes fat build up in the body's cells

pick mattock
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A tool with a pointed end and a flat blade for digging and breaking hard soil or rock

pick-mattock
  • Specialized
8.4

A hand tool with a pointed end and a flat blade for digging and breaking hard rocky soil

9.9

A girl who wants men's approval by putting herself or other women down

How Forceful

to pick
12 3.2
to strum
20 3.7

Surface Forms

pick infinitive
picked past
picked past participle
picking present participle
picks third person singular

Etymology

Pick meaning to pluck strings comes from the action of pulling single notes with a finger or a small tool, so to pick a guitar is to play by plucking the strings.