Definitions for pickpɪk

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

pickpɪk(v.t.)

to choose or select, esp. with care.
to seek and find occasion for; provoke:
to pick a fight.
to attempt to find; seek out:
to pick flaws in an argument.
to steal the contents of:
to pick a pocket.
to open (a lock) with a device other than the key, esp. for the purpose of burglary.
to pierce, dig into, or break up (something) with a pointed instrument:
to pick ore.
to form (a hole) by such action.
to use a pointed instrument or the fingers on (a thing), to remove particles or adhering matter:
to pick one's teeth.
to prepare for use by removing a covering, as feathers:
to pick a fowl.
to detach or remove piece by piece with the fingers:
to pick meat from the bones.
to pluck or gather one by one:
to pick flowers.
(of birds or other animals) to take up (small bits of food) with the bill or teeth.
Category: Animal Behavior
to eat daintily or in small morsels.
to separate, pull apart, or pull to pieces:
to pick fibers.
to pluck (the strings of a musical instrument). to play (a stringed instrument) by plucking with the fingers.
Category: Music and Dance
(v.i.)to use a pick or other pointed instrument on something.
to select carefully or fastidiously.
to pilfer; steal.
to pluck or gather fruit, flowers, etc.
pick apart,to criticize severely or in great detail.
Category: Common Vocabulary, Verb Phrase
pick at, to find fault with; nag. to eat sparingly or daintily. to grasp at; touch; handle.
Category: Verb Phrase
pick off, to remove by pulling or plucking off. to single out and shoot: Baseball. to put out (a base runner) in a pick-off play.
The hunter picked off a duck rising from the marsh.
Category: Verb Phrase
pick on, to criticize or blame; tease; harass. to single out; choose.
Category: Verb Phrase
pick out, to choose; select. to distinguish from that which surrounds or accompanies: to discern (sense or meaning). to work out (a melody) note by note; play by ear. to extract by picking.
to pick out a well-known face in a crowd.
Category: Verb Phrase
pick over,to examine (an assortment of items) in order to make a selection.
Category: Verb Phrase
pick up, to lift or take up: to cause (one's courage, health, etc.) to recover. to gain, obtain, or learn casually or by occasional opportunity: to take on as a passenger. to bring into range of reception, observation, etc.: to accelerate; gain (speed). to put in good order; tidy. to make progress; improve: to become acquainted with informally or casually, often in hope of a sexual relationship. to resume or continue after being left off.
to pick up a stone.
I've picked up a few Japanese phrases.
to pick up Rome on one's radio.
Business is picking up.
Category: Common Vocabulary, Verb Phrase
pick up on, Informal. become aware of; notice.
Category: Verb Phrase, Common Vocabulary
(n.)the act of choosing or selecting; choice; selection:
Take your pick.
a person or thing selected.
the choicest or most desirable part, example, or examples:
This horse is the pick of the stable.
the right of selection.
the quantity of a crop picked at a particular time.
Category: Agriculture
a stroke with something pointed.
a basketball maneuver or positioning to prevent a defender from interfering with a teammate's shot.
Category: Sport

Idioms for pick:

pick someone's brains,to obtain information or ideas by questioning someone closely.
Category: Idiom

Origin of pick:

1250–1300; (v.) ME pyken, pikken, pekken, c. D pikken, G picken, ON pikka to pick; akin to peck2 , pike5 ; (n.) der. of the v.

pickpɪk(n.)

a heavy tool consisting of a curved metal head tapering to a point at one or both ends, mounted on a wooden handle, and used for breaking up soil, rock, etc.
Category: Building Trades
any pointed tool or instrument for picking:
an ice pick.
Category: Building Trades
Category: Music and Dance
Ref: plectrum
a comb with long, widely spaced teeth.
Category: Common Vocabulary, Status (usage)

Origin of pick:

1300–50; ME pikk(e); perh. var. of pike5

pickpɪk(v.t.)

to cast (a shuttle).
Category: Textiles
(n.)(in a loom) one passage of the shuttle.
Category: Textiles
a single thread of filling yarn.
Category: Textiles

Origin of pick:

1850–60; var. of pitch1

Princeton's WordNet

choice, pick, selection(noun)
the person or thing chosen or selected
"he was my pick for mayor"
picking, pick(noun)
the quantity of a crop that is harvested
"he sent the first picking of berries to the market"; "it was the biggest peach pick in years"
cream, pick(noun)
the best people or things in a group
"the cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War"
woof, weft, filling, pick(noun)
the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving
pick, plectrum, plectron(noun)
a small thin device (of metal or plastic or ivory) used to pluck a stringed instrument
pick(noun)
a thin sharp implement used for removing unwanted material
"he used a pick to clean the dirt out of the cracks"
pick, pickax, pickaxe(noun)
a heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends
"they used picks and sledges to break the rocks"
pick(noun)
a basketball maneuver; obstructing an opponent with one's body
"he was called for setting an illegal pick"
choice, selection, option, pick(verb)
the act of choosing or selecting
"your choice of colors was unfortunate"; "you can take your pick"
pick(verb)
select carefully from a group
"She finally picked her successor"; "He picked his way carefully"
pick, pluck, cull(verb)
look for and gather
"pick mushrooms"; "pick flowers"
blame, find fault, pick(verb)
harass with constant criticism
"Don't always pick on your little brother"
pick(verb)
provoke
"pick a fight or a quarrel"
pick(verb)
remove in small bits
"pick meat from a bone"
clean, pick(verb)
remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits
"Clean the turkey"
pick(verb)
pilfer or rob
"pick pockets"
foot, pick(verb)
pay for something
"pick up the tab"; "pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages"; "foot the bill"
pluck, plunk, pick(verb)
pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion
"he plucked the strings of his mandolin"
pick, break up(verb)
attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example
"Pick open the ice"
peck, pick, beak(verb)
hit lightly with a picking motion
nibble, pick, piece(verb)
eat intermittently; take small bites of
"He pieced at the sandwich all morning"; "She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

pick(verb)ɪk
to decide which of two or more things you want; = choose
Ellie picked the red one.; He was picked to be the new principal.
pickɪk
to take a fruit or flower off a plant
We were picking apples.; He picked a flower and handed it to her.
pickɪk
to scratch or tear pieces off
Don't pick your zits.
pickɪk
to ask for information
I need to pick your brains about fund raising.
pickɪk
to deliberately start a fight
He got drunk and picked a fight with someone.
pickɪk
to pull mucus from your nose
pick(noun)ɪk
a piece of plastic used to play a guitar
a guitar pick
pickɪk
a sharp tool for breaking into hard surfaces
an ice pick
pickɪk
sb or sth you think will win or be the best
Who's your pick to win the series?
pickɪk
to be allowed to choose whatever you want
He had his pick of good jobs.
pickɪk
the best of
Their new diesel is the pick of the bunch.
pickɪk
used to tell sb to choose whatever they want
Take your pick - they're all fresh from the oven.

Wiktionary

pick(Noun)
A tool used for digging; a pickaxe.
pick(Noun)
A tool for unlocking a lock without the original key; a lock pick, picklock.
pick(Noun)
A comb with long widely spaced teeth, for use with tightly curled hair.
pick(Noun)
A choice.
pick(Noun)
A screen
pick(Noun)
An offensive tactic in which a player stands so as to block a defender from reaching a teammate.
pick(Noun)
An interception.
pick(Noun)
A good defensive play by an infielder
pick(Noun)
Short for pick-off
pick(Verb)
To grasp and pull with the fingers or fingernails.
pick(Verb)
To harvest a fruit or vegetable for consumption by removing it from the plant to which it is attached; to harvest an entire plant by removing it from the ground.
It's time to pick the tomatoes.
pick(Verb)
To decide between options.
I'll pick the one with the nicest name.
pick(Verb)
To recognise the type of ball being bowled by a bowler by studying the position of the hand and arm as the ball is released.
He didn't pick the googly, and was bowled.
pick(Verb)
To pluck the individual strings of a musical instrument or to play such an instrument.
He picked a tune on his banjo.
pick(Noun)
A tool used for strumming the strings of a guitar; a plectrum.

Origin: From picken, pikken, from *, pycan, from pikōnan, from beu-. Cognate with pikken, picken, pikka.

Webster Dictionary

Pick(u)
to throw; to pitch
Pick(u)
to peck at, as a bird with its beak; to strike at with anything pointed; to act upon with a pointed instrument; to pierce; to prick, as with a pin
Pick(u)
to separate or open by means of a sharp point or points; as, to pick matted wool, cotton, oakum, etc
Pick(u)
to open (a lock) as by a wire
Pick(u)
to pull apart or away, especially with the fingers; to pluck; to gather, as fruit from a tree, flowers from the stalk, feathers from a fowl, etc
Pick(u)
to remove something from with a pointed instrument, with the fingers, or with the teeth; as, to pick the teeth; to pick a bone; to pick a goose; to pick a pocket
Pick(u)
to choose; to select; to separate as choice or desirable; to cull; as, to pick one's company; to pick one's way; -- often with out
Pick(u)
to take up; esp., to gather from here and there; to collect; to bring together; as, to pick rags; -- often with up; as, to pick up a ball or stones; to pick up information
Pick(u)
to trim
Pick(verb)
to eat slowly, sparingly, or by morsels; to nibble
Pick(verb)
to do anything nicely or carefully, or by attending to small things; to select something with care
Pick(verb)
to steal; to pilfer
Pick(noun)
a sharp-pointed tool for picking; -- often used in composition; as, a toothpick; a picklock
Pick(noun)
a heavy iron tool, curved and sometimes pointed at both ends, wielded by means of a wooden handle inserted in the middle, -- used by quarrymen, roadmakers, etc.; also, a pointed hammer used for dressing millstones
Pick(noun)
a pike or spike; the sharp point fixed in the center of a buckler
Pick(noun)
choice; right of selection; as, to have one's pick
Pick(noun)
that which would be picked or chosen first; the best; as, the pick of the flock
Pick(noun)
a particle of ink or paper imbedded in the hollow of a letter, filling up its face, and occasioning a spot on a printed sheet
Pick(noun)
that which is picked in, as with a pointed pencil, to correct an unevenness in a picture
Pick(noun)
the blow which drives the shuttle, -- the rate of speed of a loom being reckoned as so many picks per minute; hence, in describing the fineness of a fabric, a weft thread; as, so many picks to an inch