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to pick

to pick

5 3.6
To eat small amounts and not finish a meal
  • verb
  • /pɪk/
: picar
  • Conek swore under his breath and picked at his food with a tine.

OK, Do you ever pick and eat your dry skin?

Examples

  • The next morning at nine-thirty, Mom was already walking around the apartment, picking at things.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Isabel nibbled at the peas and picked a few morsels of hamburger from the orange sauce.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • OK, Do you ever pick and eat your dry skin?

  • Number two, how could you just like pick any food that you eat every day?

  • "Rose sat down next to me and picked at the grass for a minute.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • There was simply nothing to talk about, and I picked at my salad.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Julie reflected, as she picked at the shrimp, that this was one strange character.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • When I feel nervous, I tend to pick at my food rather than eat it properly.

  • She couldn't help but pick at her salad, taking tiny bites rather than finishing her meal.

  • During the movie, I liked to pick at the popcorn without really paying attention to how much I was eating.

Synonyms

to eat
vsto pick
∞ 1.0

Put food or drink into your mouth, chew it and swallow it

specifies taking small bites or small amounts rather than general eating
to take a bite
vsto pick
62 1.4

To eat a small piece of food or reduce something a little

expresses eating small amounts over time, not a single mouthful
to nibble
vsto pick
55 2.0

To eat small, gentle bites slowly or a little at a time

involves small amounts but can be less gentle and more casual
to snack
vsto pick
36 1.0

To eat a small amount of food between meals

covers small amounts during meals too, not only between meals
to have a bite
vsto pick
23 1.8

Eat a small amount of food as a quick snack

is about taking small amounts repeatedly rather than a single light meal
to peck
vsto pick
6 3.4

To eat small, quick bites like a bird

describes small eating without the quick or birdlike quality
to nosh
vsto pick
  • Informal
4 8.2

To eat a small snack between meals

applies to small bites during any eating, not only between meals
to pick at
vsto pick
2 4.6

Eat very small amounts of food when not feeling hungry

focuses on taking small bites or leaving a meal unfinished
to eat like a bird
vsto pick
  • Informal
1 6.0

To eat only a very small amount of food

means taking small amounts but not necessarily extremely little
to peck at
vsto pick
1 4.7

To eat only a little food and not show interest

refers more generally to eating in small amounts, not only low appetite

Antonyms

37 2.3

To eat and drink a lot, usually at a special meal

15 2.9

To eat food quickly because you are very hungry

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 Much

to gorge
19 5.9
to eat
∞ 1.0
to snack
36 1.0
to pick
5 3.6
to nibble
55 2.0

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

Pick meaning to eat in small bites comes from taking little pieces one by one, so when someone picks at their food they only eat a little.