Pick

Pronunciation: pĭk

v. t.

[imp. & p. p. Picked (pĭkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Picking.]

- Shak.

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.

To separate or open by means of a sharp point or points; as, to pick matted wool, cotton, oakum, etc.

To open (a lock) as by a wire.

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.

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.

Did you pick Master Slender's purse?

- Shak.

He picks clean teeth, and, busy as he seems
With an old tavern quill, is hungry yet.

- Cowper.

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.

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.

To trim.

To pick at
to tease or vex by pertinacious annoyance.

To pick a bone with
See under Bone.

To pick a thank
to curry favor.

To pick off
a -	To pluck; to remove by picking - Robynson (More's Utopia).
b -	To shoot or bring down, one by one; as, sharpshooters pick off the enemy.

To pick out
a -	To mark out; to variegate; as, to pick out any dark stuff with lines or spots of bright colors
b -	To select from a number or quantity.

To pick to pieces
to pull apart piece by piece; hence [Colloq.], to analyze; esp., to criticize in detail.

To pick a quarrel
to give occasion of quarrel intentionally.

To pick up
a -	To take up, as with the fingers
b -	To get by repeated efforts; to gather here and there; as, to pick up a livelihood; to pick up news.

v. i.

To eat slowly, sparingly, or by morsels; to nibble.

Why stand'st thou picking? Is thy palate sore?

- Dryden.

To do anything nicely or carefully, or by attending to small things; to select something with care.

To steal; to pilfer.

To pick up
to improve by degrees; as, he is picking up in health or business.

A sharp-pointed tool for picking; - often used in composition; as, a toothpick; a picklock.

(Mining & Mech.) A heavy iron tool, curved and sometimes pointed at both ends, wielded by means of a wooden handle inserted in the middle, - used for digging ino the ground by quarrymen, roadmakers, etc.; also, a pointed hammer used for dressing millstones.

A pike or spike; the sharp point fixed in the center of a buckler.

Choice; right of selection; as, to have one's pick; in cat breeding, the owner of a stud gets the pick of the litter.

France and Russia have the pick of our stables.

- Ld. Lytton.

That which would be picked or chosen first; the best; as, the pick of the flock.

(Print.) 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.

(Painting) That which is picked in, as with a pointed pencil, to correct an unevenness in a picture.

(Weaving) The blow which drives the shuttle, - the rate of speed of a loom being reckoned as so many picks per minute;

Pick dressing
(Arch.) in cut stonework, a facing made by a pointed tool, leaving the surface in little pits or depressions.

Pick hammer
a pick with one end sharp and the other blunt, used by miners.

Noun	1.	pick - the person or thing chosen or selected; "he was my pick for mayor" Synonyms: choice, selection
	2.	pick - 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" Synonyms: picking
	3.	pick - the best people or things in a group; "the cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War" Synonyms: cream
	4.	pick - the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving Synonyms: weft, woof, filling
	5.	pick - a small thin device (of metal or plastic or ivory) used to pluck a stringed instrument Synonyms: plectron, plectrum
	6.	pick - a thin sharp implement used for picking; "he used a pick to clean dirt out of the cracks"
	7.	pick - 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" Synonyms: pickax, pickaxe
	8.	pick - a basketball maneuver; obstructing an opponent with one's body; "he was called for setting an illegal pick"
	9.	pick - the act of choosing or selecting; "your choice of colors was unfortunate"; "you can take your pick" Synonyms: selection, choice, option
Verb	1.	pick - select carefully from a group; "She finally picked her successor"; "He picked his way carefully"
	2.	pick - look for and gather; "pick mushrooms"; "pick flowers" Synonyms: cull, pluck
	3.	pick - harass with constant criticism; "Don't always pick on your little brother" Synonyms: find fault, blame
	4.	pick - provoke; "pick a fight or a quarrel"
	5.	pick - remove in small bits; "pick meat from a bone"
	6.	pick - remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits; "Clean the turkey" Synonyms: clean
	7.	pick - pilfer or rob; "pick pockets"
	8.	pick - pay for something; "pick up the tab"; "pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages"; "foot the bill" Synonyms: foot
	9.	pick - pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion; "he plucked the strings of his mandolin" Synonyms: pluck, plunk
	10.	pick - attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example; "Pick open the ice" Synonyms: break up
	11.	pick - hit lightly with a picking motion Synonyms: beak, peck
	12.	pick - eat intermittently; take small bites of; "He pieced at the sandwich all morning"; "She never eats a full meal--she just nibbles" Synonyms: nibble, piece

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