to pick
241
1.4
- verb
- /pɪk/
:
quitar
- Vivian starts roughly picking up her clothes in the dim light of the bedroom.
- pick by hand
No, women don't fart or pick our noses.
- No, women don't fart or pick our noses.
- She crashed a test phone to someone who openly picks his nose all the time.
- Now, the reasons why people do pick off their flowers.
- Cannot imagine what it would have been like to pick extensions out my head myself.
Examples
-
After the party, I had to pick out the leftover confetti from the carpet.
-
Ray was walking around the room, picking up things and setting them back down.
Fiction book (1990) -
And, girls, if you see any little bits of paper on the floor, could you just pick them up?
-
One Friday during eighth grade, my mother surprised me by picking me up after school.
Academic text (2007) -
When he found it, he picked it up and smoothed out a page.
Fiction book (1990) -
When local transportation companies were unreliable or unavailable, the social worker picked up the families.
Academic text (2003) -
Nina watched Mr. Gordon's fingers working over the bowl, picking out just the cashews.
Fiction book (1990) -
I need to pick out the plastic from my recycling bin before it gets picked up.
-
She carefully picked the dirt and leaves from her garden, ensuring it looked tidy.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To remove dirt and stains
77
3.5
To pull something out quickly with the fingers
45
3.4
To remove something by cutting, often with a sharp blow
25
1.0
To take something off a surface carefully
16
4.5
Pull something out of a place by using air to draw it in
10
2.9
Remove dust and crumbs by shaking something
9
4.3
Pull things away one at a time
8
3.0
Remove things from a surface to make it empty or clean
7
3.3
Remove the inside of something with a spoon or small tool so it becomes hollow
5
2.7
To take something out by picking it up, often carefully or with a tool
4
3.7
Choose the best items by hand one by one
3
5.2
To rub a surface with a small rough tool to remove something
2
3.7
To cut a small part off something quickly and neatly with scissors or shears
1
3.7
Take oil or fat from the top of a liquid using a spoon
1
3.4
Take a thin layer off the top of a liquid
1
4.2
To pull something away carefully, for example a bandage or tablecloth
1
1.0
To remove dirt or mud from a surface
To take small things like fruit or lint with your fingers
To remove unwanted parts from something after checking it carefully
Cut off small parts by pinching or snipping
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
5
5.8
To choose which problems to deal with instead of trying to solve every problem
- Informal
4
6.1
Challenge someone of similar size or strength instead of someone weaker
- Informal
1
9.9
To leave a group or activity because you do not get your way
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
1
7.0
Choose only data that supports an idea and ignore data that disagrees
1
4.9
To start an earlier activity or conversation again after an interruption
- Specialized
To copy one change from a code branch into another without copying other changes
Touching scabs again and again so they do not heal, sometimes meaning you reopen old hurts
- Informal
To ask someone for ideas or advice about something they know well
Compounds
- Specialized
5
7.5
A play where the pitcher or catcher throws quickly to tag a runner off base
- Specialized
A rare disease passed from parents that makes fat build up in the body's cells
- Specialized
A tool with a pointed end and a flat blade for digging and breaking hard soil or rock
- Specialized
A hand tool with a pointed end and a flat blade for digging and breaking hard rocky soil
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Etymology
Pick for removing unwanted parts comes from the idea of pulling things out one by one, so you pick out pits or leaves to leave the good part.