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Glite Dictionary
🛍️ To choose 👀 To identify
to pick out

to pick out

237 2.0
Choose one person or thing from a group
  • phrasal verb
  • /pɪk aʊt/
translation icon : escoger
  • She took a long time to pick out the perfect dress for the party.
  • pick out a few
  • pick out one

OK, I'm going to pick out my outfit in here.

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Examples

  • Mom, I will pick out my own dress.

    She's the Man (2006)

  • So can you pick out my outfit for that?

  • When you go into the show, you pick out a card from a wall.

  • Go to the store, let you pick one out under a certain price.

  • And then the kids picked these ones out for their bathroom.

  • Can you pick out something else?

    Jersey Girl (2004)

  • You have to read all these letters and pick out the ones you want to answer.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I am having the hardest time trying to pick out my dress for tonight.

    Premonition (2007)

  • The man handed us books so we could pick out what we wanted.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Will you take a look at this list of people, and pick out any names that you don't know?

    Wicked Little Letters (2024)

Synonyms

to choose
vsto pick out
∞ 1.0

Pick one thing or person from a group

is the same idea but phrased more casually
to take
vsto pick out
∞ 1.0

Choose something from several options

is the act of choosing without implying purchase
to elect
vsto pick out
∞ 3.3

To choose by voting or to decide to do something

is an ordinary selection not tied to voting or election
to select
vsto pick out
823 2.5

To choose someone or something from a group

is the general act of choosing without stressing carefulness
to go with
vsto pick out
181 1.1

To choose one thing from several options

is a neutral selection not focused on informality
to hand-pick
vsto pick out
20 3.8

To choose carefully by yourself for a special purpose

is a straightforward selection without strong personal attention
to preselect
vsto pick out
3 3.7

Choose something in advance

is a choice made at the moment rather than beforehand
to select out
vsto pick out
1 4.4

To choose some items from a group and separate them from others

is the simple act of choosing without separation process

Antonyms

to reject
839 1.9

Refuse to accept someone or something

to exclude
338 3.0

To keep someone or something out so they are not part of something

How Selective

to handpick
23 3.7
to pick out
237 2.0
to select
823 2.5
to choose
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

pick + out

The meaning 'to select or choose' is directly derivable from combining 'pick' (to choose) with the particle 'out' which signals selection away from a set or group; the compositional relation is straightforward. This verb+particle pattern is common and cross-linguistically accessible, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will reliably infer the meaning.

Etymology

The verb pick out comes from the simple image of a hand taking one item from a group, like picking an apple from a tree or a coat from a pile. To pick something out is to 'choose' it, so the phrase now means 'to select' someone or something.