pick
35
5.3
- noun
- /pɪk/
:
pico
- To dig deeper into the mine, the team relied on their heavy picks and shovels.
- pick and shovel
Examples
-
Like an archaeologist, with her tiny pick, her little brush, her warm breath blowing the loosened dirt away.
Fiction book (1999) -
The work is all done by hand, pick and shovel instead of dynamite and bulldozer.
Fiction book (1993) -
Put the pick in there, Pete, and turn it 'round real neat.
-
"Then he went to the tool area, grabbed a pick, and started digging.
Fiction book (1995) -
Carl began digging with a pick, using a shovel to clear the broken ice out of the hole.
Fiction book (1999) -
The construction workers used a pick to break the hard ground before laying the foundation.
-
He swung the pick against the rocky surface, trying to clear the area for planting.
Synonyms
9
5.1
A heavy tool with a wooden handle and a pointed metal head for breaking hard ground or rock
4
3.9
A heavy tool with a wooden handle and pointed metal ends for breaking hard ground or rocks
A hand tool with a pointed end and a flat blade for digging and breaking hard rocky soil
A tool with a pointed end and a flat blade for digging and breaking hard soil or rock
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
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 Heavy
Surface Forms
Etymology
Pick for the heavy tool (a pickaxe) is the direct name for that pointed instrument, so this pick is the big tool used to break rock or earth.