to pick over
2
3.6
- phrasal verb
:
examinar
- I find the selection to be very picked over, at least for women's clothes in my sizes (10-14 petite, depending on brand), as well as for kids' clothes.
- pick over beans
- pick over cranberries
- pick over chickpeas
Examples
-
People walked through it, picking over the merchandise that had been thrown into the street.
Fiction book (1991) -
All right, pick over these foreign dogs and let's go.
-
There was more, but it's been picked over little by little over the years.
-
The lots were already picked over.
Fiction book (2001) -
Kneeling in the dirt, she picked over the spilled contents.
Fiction book (2001) -
She was a seasoned bargain hunter who'd been picking over things down the line.
Fiction book (1994) -
In its green shade, Amira begum had sat in the afternoons and picked over rice or daals, combed her hair, and listened to film songs from All India Radio.
Fiction book (1995) -
To prepare the fruit for canning, you need to pick over the apples and remove any that are bruised.
-
Before the garage sale, Sally took time to pick over her old clothes to find the best items to sell.
-
It's important to pick over the documents carefully to ensure you only keep the necessary paperwork.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To choose carefully from a group
823
2.5
To choose someone or something from a group
237
2.0
Choose one person or thing from a group
44
3.9
To look through many things carefully to find something specific
23
6.3
To choose only the best people or things for yourself
8
8.3
To choose the most important parts from a larger group
4
3.7
Choose the best items by hand one by one
1
4.4
To choose some items from a group and separate them from others
1
7.1
To choose the best items from a larger group and remove them
1
5.3
Remove unwanted bits from food or material by passing them through a screen
1
4.6
Take the best people or things from a group, leaving the rest behind
To remove unwanted parts from something after checking it carefully
Antonyms
How Careful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to examine a group of things carefully' is directly derivable from 'pick' (to choose/select/examine) combined with 'over' (throughout/thoroughly); the particle adds a sense of going through items. This verb+particle composition is a common, predictable pattern in English (and parallels in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Pick over comes from the simple image of someone using their hands to pick through a pile, moving over each item to pull out bad bits like stones from beans or rotten berries. So, it now means 'to examine carefully to choose the best or remove the unwanted'.