picked 1 of 2

adjective

ˈpikt How to pronounce picked (audio)
Definition of pickednext
as in selected
singled out from a number or group as more to one's liking a picked group of people for the project

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picked

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pick
1
as in harvested
to catch or collect (a crop or natural resource) for human use pick peas and beans from the garden for dinner

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2
as in chose
to decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities I pick you as my partner

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3
as in provoked
to bring (something volatile or intense) into being he seems to be trying to pick a fight

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4
as in nibbled
to eat reluctantly and in small bites still suffering from the shock of his wife's death, he could do no more than pick halfheartedly at his food

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in stabbed
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object continued to pick the block of ice until she was able to extract the shrimp

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of picked
Verb
The property later passed through several notable hands, including Creative Artists Agency (CAA) co-chairman Kevin Huvane and filmmaker Roberto Sneider, before Channing Tatum picked it up for $6 million in 2015, according to Variety. — Michael Gioia, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026 Kansas was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 preseason poll; the highest finish of the Schneider era was fifth place in 2021-22. — Pj Green october 21, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026 Bass won a meager 34% of the vote in the June primary — meaning two out of three voters picked someone else. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026 Along with their organization’s missions, the pair picked horror because of the conversations the genre provokes. — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026 Unsolved Mysteries, which was originally hosted by Robert Stack and ran for over 500 episodes between 1987 and 2010, previously aired on NBC between 1987 and 1997 and CBS picked it up for two years after it was cancelled. — Peter White, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2026 Inside you’ll find an eye-popping array of full-color photography and sharp descriptions for hundreds of artworks, all hand-picked by Lucas and Hobson. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2026 Machado had picked Sierra up from his mother’s Kendall home in her gold Nissan Altima. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 The effect was clear in Nevada’s 2024 Senate race, which Democrats narrowly won as nearly 5 percent of voters picked a candidate outside the two major parties. — semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for picked
  1. selected
  2. harvested
  3. took
  4. provoked
  5. nibbled
  6. stabbed
  7. select
  8. gathered
Adjective
  • In selected circumstances, private ownership can provide the time, capital and operating flexibility needed to reposition the business away from quarterly market pressure.
    — Chris Russo, Sportico.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the first stage can handle different solid rocket motors for pre-selected range, speed, and performance profiles, as well as different booster types and other modular components.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of selected
Verb
  • Traditionally, tobacco was harvested by hand, hung in a log barn and cured to a golden-brown with a wood fire that had to be stoked day and night.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Lawsuit filed five years ago New Mexico's attorney general had sued Meta in 2021 following revelations that Cambridge Analytica had harvested personal data from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party app.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of harvested
Verb
  • Abboud Saadi, by contrast, took full-time musicianship very seriously.
    — Shy Clara Thompson, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Titled The Dynamo and the Computer, David traced how electricity took roughly forty years to show up in factory productivity.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of took
Verb
  • North Korea denied responsibility for the explosions and warned of strong retaliation if provoked.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • French’s post provoked social media responses calling for violence against Indians and desecrating Hindu temples.
    — Arun Brahmbhatt, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of provoked
Verb
  • Kikuko, her appetite sluggish, nibbled the bread bit by bit from the edges, all the while furtively watching her father.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Threatened by the lack of water and nibbled by starving livestock, the trees that once formed a dense forest in the Somali region of Ethiopia are in danger, locals say.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of nibbled
Verb
  • Pierce fled on foot and stabbed an officer in the neck with a knife, prompting authorities to open fire.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Mothers who beat, shook, shot, drowned, strangled, and stabbed their babies.
    — Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of stabbed
Adjective
  • Doesn't expire Up to 50% off The TJ Maxx clearance section is one of the best ways to snag a deal at the retailer, with up to 50% off select styles.
    — Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Available now at Asos and select Adidas retailers, the latest collaboration revisits one of the German sportswear company’s most recognizable silhouettes, this time through a distinctly autumnal lens.
    — Camila Quimper, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of select
Verb
  • Hundreds of people were gathered inside the warehouse of a steel-fabricating company in north Topeka in a state where Democrats haven't won a Senate race since 1932.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • More than a hundred people had gathered earlier in and around the church for a funeral procession.
    — Aoife Walsh, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of gathered

Phrases Containing picked

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Cite this Entry

“Picked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picked. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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