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to pick

to pick

80 6.5
To break hard ground or ice by striking with a tool
  • verb
  • /pɪk/
translation icon : picar
  • The construction worker took a pick to break apart the concrete slab.

Examples

  • Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Simenon pick up another rock.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Unable to do so, they pick up their axes and slash desperately at the trunk.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Men labored with the gleaming implements, picking at the mountain while overseers watched.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The miners used their picks to dig deep into the rocky ground.

  • He picked at the surface of the soil with a pick to loosen it for planting.

Synonyms

to chip
vsto pick
104 2.3

To break off a small piece of an object

is more about stronger striking to break away chunks rather than delicate shaping
to scrape
vsto pick
62 1.2

To rub material off a surface with something hard or sharp

uses repeated striking to break away chunks rather than rubbing them off
to gouge
vsto pick
20 7.2

To make a deep cut or hole in something with a sharp object

tends to remove smaller fragments by impact instead of cutting deep grooves
to chisel
vsto pick
19 5.1

To shape wood or stone using a flat metal blade

is rougher and breaks material by heavy strikes rather than precise cutting
to chip off
vsto pick
3 3.2

Break a small piece from something by hitting or pressing it

focuses on repeated strikes to remove material bit by bit

Antonyms

1.0

To make something by joining parts or materials

365 1.0

To fix something that is broken or not working

Idioms

Choose any one you want from the options

5 3.7

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

5 5.8

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

Challenge someone of similar size or strength instead of someone weaker

1 8.6

To accept a challenge and try to meet it

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

Leave a meeting or project because you are upset

To get better after a failure and start again

Phrasal Verbs

2.5

To get something from a store or give someone a ride

2.6

To learn or notice something often by chance

834 1.0

To lift something or someone from the ground with your hands

237 2.0

Choose one person or thing from a group

165 3.0

To get better or stronger

to pick on
  • Informal
156 3.5

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

142 3.9

To notice something that is not obvious

to pick up
  • NSFW
126 8.2

To meet someone to start a romantic or sexual relationship

to pick up
  • Informal
125 3.9

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

77 2.8

To pay for something, often for someone else

64 3.0

Notice a sound or sight among other things

24 4.0

To eat small bits of food by pecking like a bird

to cherry-pick
  • Informal
23 6.3

To choose only the best people or things for yourself

To move or work faster

to pick off
  • Offensive
22 8.0

Shoot and kill opponents one by one from a hidden place

20 3.8

To choose carefully by yourself for a special purpose

to pick apart
  • Informal
14 5.2

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

11 3.4

To show a color or detail from another thing

9 4.3

Pull things away one at a time

5 4.6

Eat very small amounts of food when not feeling hungry

5 3.8

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

3 5.7

Keep finding small faults in someone or their ideas

2 3.6

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

2 7.7

To open a lock without a key by using tools

1 7.0

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

1 4.2

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

To start an earlier activity or conversation again after an interruption

to cherry-pick
  • Specialized
6.5

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

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

5.3

To put a finger in your nose to remove mucus

7.8

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

Compounds

26 4.2

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

20 3.5

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

pick-off
  • Specialized
5 7.5

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

4 2.9

A small flat piece for plucking or strumming guitar strings

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
9.8

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

pick mattock
  • Specialized
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 smash
311 2.1
to hack
55 4.7
to pick
80 6.5
to chip away
24 4.2
strike
17 2.3
tap
66 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

Pick meaning to chip away at hard ground comes from using a pointed tool, like a pickaxe, so to pick at rock is to break it with sharp blows.