Verb (1)pick peas and beans from the garden for dinner
I pick you as my partner
he seems to be trying to pick a fight
still suffering from the shock of his wife's death, he could do no more than pick halfheartedly at his food
continued to pick the block of ice until she was able to extract the shrimp Noun (1)
that team is my pick to win the Super Bowl
the pick of the contestants will go on to the next competition
you have first pick of your office mates for the softball team
in the days when corporal punishment was permissible, it was not uncommon for an inattentive student to get a sharp pick in the head with a blackboard pointer
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The Tampa Bay Lightning paid a third-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for Jake Guentzel’s rights last summer.
2.—Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 31 May 2025 Pass's rich tone arose from a combination of using a pick and playing closer to the guitar neck.—ArsTechnica, 31 May 2025
Verb
Best new cars in 2025: See Consumer Reports' top picks for reliability, safety and moreNeed a break?—Nora Eckert, USA Today, 21 May 2025 Then Tavares basically spent all seven years refusing to pick a lane.—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 21 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for pick
Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
Middle English piken, partly from Old English *pīcian (akin to Middle Dutch picken to prick); partly from Middle French piquer to prick — more at pike
Noun (2)
Middle English pik
Verb (2)
Middle English pykken to pitch (a tent); akin to Middle English picchen to pitch
Share