pick out

verb

picked out; picking out; picks out

transitive verb

1
2
: to play the notes of by ear or one by one
picking out tunes on the piano

Examples of pick out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Henry was easy to pick out, but Bing herself was nearly unrecognizable—tall, slim, and radiant. Zach Williams, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Other celebrities pick out polos when getting dressed, too: Taylor Swift wears Bejeweled bodysuits on stage for a living, but IRL, she’s been seen wearing a red, white, and blue polo, while last spring Hailey Bieber and Rihanna stepped out in the exact same Loewe polo sweater-like shirts. Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 18 Mar. 2024 Musgraves struggles to pick out a specific track that served as her entry point, instead ascribing it to an overall feeling. Liam Hess, Vogue, 16 Mar. 2024 Officers occasionally stopped the belt to pick out and open a suspicious parcel. Didi Tang, Fortune Asia, 4 Mar. 2024 But while fans will have time to sort out the general aesthetic for whatever tour will follow, a certain subset of people who have been leaking Grande’s music online already have their outfit picked out for them: an orange jumpsuit. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024 My wedding planning consisted of picking out a serene spot by the river under a soaring marula tree for the ceremony. Emma Pearson, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Feb. 2024 The artistry is so distinct that fans can instantly pick out a Vanillaware title from a screenshot. Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 The 60-year-old South Beach resident, who state prosecutors say was deported to Jamaica before his arrest, was also picked out of a photo line-up by Perez’s girlfriend, who took the witness stand during the trial and who the Miami Herald has not named. Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pick out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pick out was in 1540

Dictionary Entries Near pick out

Cite this Entry

“Pick out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pick%20out. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pick out

verb
1
: to see or detect with some difficulty
picked out the trail in the snow
2
: to play the notes of by ear or one by one
pick out a tune
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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