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picking

picking

1 1.3
Gathering fruit or crops by hand
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪkɪŋ/
translation icon : recolección
  • She loves picking berries because it reminds her of childhood trips to the farm.
  • slim pickings

Examples

  • Blackberry-Picking

    Blog text (7)
  • - Picking strawberries.

  • - Picking apples.

  • Look for Avon Cider Mill cider next year at The Picking Patch on Nod Road.

    Blog text (18)
  • BLUEBERRY PICKING'S KIND OF LIKE HUNTING, YOU GOT TO BE KINDA PATIENT.

  • On weekends, we enjoy picking fruit in the orchard during the summer.

  • The family spent the afternoon picking apples from the trees in their backyard.

Synonyms

harvest
vspicking
166 1.0

The time when farmers gather ripe crops from the fields

refers specifically to collecting produce by hand as a physical act
harvesting
vspicking
12 2.7

Gathering ripe crops from fields

is specifically done by hand rather than by machines or tools
to pickin'
vspicking
  • Informal
9.9

To take small things like fruit or lint with your fingers

is the standard word used for the same action without dialect
berrying
vspicking
3.7

Picking wild berries to eat or enjoy

applies to gathering various crops and fruits by hand, not only berries
handpicking
vspicking
3.9

A careful choice of people or things made by one person

involves gathering produce by hand rather than careful choice or selection

Compounds

9.9

A rude, annoying way of behaving that shows little respect

How Thorough

harvesting
12 2.7
picking
1 1.3
gleaning
2 5.2

Surface Forms

picking singular
pickings plural

Morphology

picking = pick (transparent) = pick + ing

Standard gerund/nominalization from the verb 'pick'; the meaning 'the act of gathering' is directly derived.

Etymology

Picking comes from the simple verb pick, which once meant 'to pluck' or 'to peck' like a bird taking food one piece at a time. So picking is the hand action of gathering fruit or crops.