Hypertext Webster Gateway: "pick"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Pick \Pick\, v. i.
1. To eat slowly, sparingly, or by morsels; to nibble.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Pick \Pick\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Picked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Picking}.] [OE. picken, pikken, to prick, peck; akin to
Icel. pikka, Sw. picka, Dan. pikke, D. pikken, G. picken, F.
piquer, W. pigo. Cf. {Peck}, v., {Pike}, {Pitch} to throw.]
1. To throw; to pitch. [Obs.]

As high as I could pick my lance. --Shak.

2. 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.

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

4. To open (a lock) as by a wire.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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. ``One man picked out of ten thousand.''
--Shak.

8. 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.

9. To trim. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

{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. [Obs.] --Robynson (More's
Utopia).

{To pick off}.
(a) To pluck; to remove by picking.
(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.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Pick \Pick\, n. [F. pic a pickax, a pick. See {Pick}, and cf.
{Pike}.]
1. A sharp-pointed tool for picking; -- often used in
composition; as, a toothpick; a picklock.

2. (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 by quarrymen, roadmakers,
etc.; also, a pointed hammer used for dressing millstones.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

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


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