pick

verb (CHOOSE)

/pɪk/

Definition

B1 [T] to take some things and leave others: Pick a card from the pack. One of my sisters has been picked for the Olympic team. [+ obj + to infinitive ] She was picked to play for the team. The police asked him if he could pick (out) the killer from a series of photos. The fairest way to decide the winner is to pick a name out of a hat/at random (= without looking or choosing). They picked their way (= carefully chose a route) down the broken steps. He's brilliant at picking winners (= choosing what will be successful). → Compare chooseTaking and choosing pick and choose often disapproving › to take some things but not others: The richest universities can pick and choose which students they take.Taking and choosing

(Definition of pick verb (CHOOSE) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)