pick off

as in to intercept
to stop, seize, or interrupt while in progress or on course picked off more passes than any other player in the division

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Examples Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of pick off The only poor game came in Week 10 against the Houston Texans when he was picked off five times. Steve Silverman, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025 With this contest already having nine punts, Kyler Murray looked for Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone, but he was picked off. Ryan Morik, Fox News, 29 Dec. 2024 But with the game tied 24-24, Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Christian Gray picked off Penn State quarterback Drew Allar’s errant pass, giving the Irish the ball at the Nittany Lions’ 42-yard line. Tim Casey, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025 Prior to the 2023 season, Major League Baseball announced a spate of rules designed to make stealing bases easier — instituting penalties for pitchers who take too much time between pitches, and fail to pick off a runner within three attempts. Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for pick off 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pick off
Verb
  • In an effort to intercept and hamper these missions, the Nazis occupied Svalbard and set up intelligence stations that could gather weather data to help aid in attacks on Allied ships.
    James Patton Rogers & Caroline Kennedy Pipe / Made by History , TIME, 23 Jan. 2025
  • On 22 attempts Sunday, Allen did not have a single pass broken up or intercepted.
    Derrik Klassen, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • In the hills of the Palisades, near the Temescal Ridge Trail, Alex Emerick, 34, his younger sister, Rainier, and their parents grabbed garden hoses at their home of 33 years.
    Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2025
  • The witness jumped in to assist and grab the knife, cutting himself in the process.
    Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 25 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Republicans successfully slipped in an amendment to the 2025 defense bill that blocks gender-affirming care for transgender children of the military, legislation that Biden signed into law, although many Democrats objected to the provision.
    Brad Dress, The Hill, 21 Jan. 2025
  • After a federal court issued an injunction last summer blocking the program, millions of borrowers who had enrolled in SAVE were forced into a forbearance.
    Adam S. Minsky, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Pick off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pick%20off. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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