1
[ verb ] pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives

Synonyms

choose select take

Examples

"Take any one of these cards" "Choose a good husband for your daughter" "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"

Used in print

(Ralph J. Salisbury, "On the Old Santa Fe Trail...)

There was no time to pick_out a penny ; I got a coin between my thumb and forefinger , leaned my elbows in a very natural and casual manner on top of the truck cab and flipped my little missile .

(T. C. McClary, "The Flooded Desert," Argosy,...)

He had picked_out this pathless trail , instead of the common one , in a moment of romantic fancy , to give them privacy on their honeymoon .

2
[ verb ] detect with the senses

Examples

"The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards" "I can't make out the faces in this photograph"

Used in print

(Clifford Irving, The Valley....)

They had been seen as soon as they left the ranch , picked_out of the darkness by the weary though watchful eyes of two men posted a_few hundred yards away in the windless shelter of the trees .

(Thomas Anderson, Here Comes Pete Now....)

This light did not penetrate very far back into the hall , and my eyes were hindered rather_than aided by the dim daylight entering through the fan vents when I tried to pick_out whatever might be lying , or squatting , on the floor below .

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