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to pickin'

to pickin'

5 9.9
To play a guitar by plucking or strumming the strings
  • verb
  • /ˈpɪkɪn/
  • Informal
: tocar
  • He spent the afternoon pickin' his guitar on the front porch.

Examples

  • They love pickin' bluegrass tunes together at family gatherings.

  • You could hear her pickin' softly in the living room as the sun set.

  • He loves pickin' the guitar on weekends.

  • Are you pickin' that banjo again?

  • He spent the afternoon pickin' his guitar on the front porch.

  • You could hear her pickin' softly in the living room as the sun set.

  • They love pickin' bluegrass tunes together at family gatherings.

Synonyms

to strum
vsto pickin'
20 3.7

To play a string instrument by sweeping fingers or a pick across the strings in a steady rhythm

is a general term covering both single notes and rhythmic sweeping actions
to pick
vsto pickin'
12 3.2

To pluck instrument strings with fingers or a small tool

is the informal dialectal form used in casual speech for the same action
to pluck the string
vsto pickin'
1 3.9

Gently pull and release a string on an instrument like a guitar or harp to make a sound

is used more broadly for playing strings rather than only single gentle pulls

Idioms

1 9.9

People play music and smile together in a happy, relaxed way

How Skillful

to solo
6 4.2
to pickin'
  • Informal
5 9.9
to pick
12 3.2
to strum
20 3.7

Surface Forms

pickin' infinitive
picked past
picked past participle
pickin' present participle
pickin's third person singular

Morphology

pickin' = picking (transparent) = pick + ing

The word is the colloquial clipped spelling of 'picking', with no change in meaning beyond informal pronunciation/spelling.

Etymology

The word pickin' is the informal verb form of pick, which means 'to pluck' or 'strum' a string. So when someone is pickin' a guitar or banjo, they are casually plucking or strumming the strings.