pick
To “pick” something is to get it or choose it. You can pick a thing or a person.
- I picked up some milk from the store. (pick up = get)
- The company picked Isabel to be the next vice president. (pick = choose)
- Which one did you pick? (pick = decide on)
- Who did you pick to win the election? (pick = choose)
- Don’t pick that scab! (pick = touch)
pick
a. pick = harvest / get
A person who helps with harvesting food, picks it. You can pick from a tree, a bush, or from a plant.
- It’s fun to pick apples in the fall.
- I picked enough apples to make an apple pie.
- It’s apple picking season. (In this sentence, “picking” is an adjective.)
- Picking apples is fun. (In this sentence, “picking” is a gerund.)
- Freshly picked apples are delicious. (adjective = picked)
- We are grateful to the people who pick our fruit and vegetables every day.
- She’s picking apples from an apple tree.
- Many people who immigrate to the United States find jobs picking fruit.
- He’s picking oranges from an orange tree.
b. pick = choose
A person who picks something, make a choice. The preposition “out” is often added to form the phrasal verb “pick out.”
- Every morning, Sally picks out somethng to wear to work.
- She picked out a dress.
- She picked a dress out.
- Here are some choices. Pick one.
- People who visit a candy shop can pick out the candy that they like the most.
c. pick = touch
When you pick a part of your body, you are touching it in a way that is impolite or slightly harmful.
- If you keep picking that scab, it will never heal.
- Don’t pick it!
- Children are always picking their noses.
- It’s not polite to pick your nose in public.
- Please, don’t pick your nose!
- Her mother told her not to pick her nose.
d. phrasal verbs: pick out, pick on, pick through
The word “pick” is a part of many phrasal verbs.
- I need to pick out something to wear to the wedding. (pick out = choose)
- We have a lot of information to pick through. (pick through = look at and find something.)
- It’s not nice to pick on another person. (pick on = harass, call out)
- She’s picking through some albums at a record shop.
e. pick up
There are many different meanings for the phrasal verb “pick up.” It can possibly be used in place of the verbs lift, get, and increase.
- Our sales are finally picking up. (pick up = increase)
- The wind is beginning to pick up. (pick up = increase)
- When you go to the store, pick up some milk. (pick up = get)
- I have to pick up a friend from the airport. (pick up = drive to a place to get a person)
- Those boxes are too heavy to pick up. (pick up = lift)
- Harold hasn’t picked up a guitar in years. (pick up = lift and use)
- When Vanessa lived in Morocco, she was able to pick up a little French. (pick up = learn a language)
f. The word "pick" can be used as a noun.
When “pick” is used as a noun, it means “choice” or “decision.
- You made a good pick.
- That was a bad pick.
- If I don’t like my pick, can I choose something else?
- Javier had his pick of women to marry. He chose Gloria.