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(), v. t.[imp. & p. p.Picked (); p. pr. & vb. n.Picking.] [OE. picken, pikken, to prick, peck; akin to Icel. pikka, Sw. picka, Dan. pikke, D. pikken, G. picken, F. piquer, W. pigo. Cf. Peck, v., Pike, Pitch to throw.] 1. To throw; to pitch. [Obs.] As high as I could pick my lance. Shak. 2. To peck at, as a bird with its beak; to strike at with anything pointed; to act upon with a pointed instrument; to pierce; to prick, as with a pin. 3. To separate or open by means of a sharp point or points; as, to pick matted wool, cotton, oakum, etc. 4. To open (a lock) as by a wire. 5. To pull apart or away, especially with the fingers; to pluck; to gather, as fruit from a tree, flowers from the stalk, feathers from a fowl, etc. 6. To remove something from with a pointed instrument, with the fingers, or with the teeth; as, to pick the teeth; to pick a bone; to pick a goose; to pick a pocket. Did you pick Master Slender's purse? Shak. He picks clean teeth, and, busy as he seem Pick (), v. i. 1. To eat slowly, sparingly, or by morsels; to nibble. Why stand'st thou picking? Is thy palate sore? Dryden. 2. To do anything nicely or carefully, or by attending to small things; to select something with care. 3. To steal; to pilfer. "To keep my hands from picking and stealing." Book of Com. Prayer. To pick up, to improve by degrees; as, he is picking up in health or business. [Colloq. U.S.] Pick n.[F. pic a pickax, a pick. See Pick, and cf. Pike.] 1. A sharp-pointed tool for picking; -- often used in composition; as, a toothpick; a picklock. 2. (Mining & Mech.) A heavy iron tool, curved and sometimes pointed at both ends, wielded by means of a wooden handle inserted in the middle, -- used by quarrymen, roadmakers, etc.; also, a pointed hammer used for dressing millstones. 3. A pike or spike; the sharp point fixed in the center of a buckler. [Obs.] "Take down my buckler . . . and grind the pick on 't." Beau. & Fl. 4. Choice; right of selection; as, to have one's pick. France and Russia have the pick of our stables. Ld. Lytton. 5. That which would be picked or chosen first; the best; as, the pick of the flock. 6. (Print.) A particle of ink or paper imbedded in the hollow of a letter, filling up its face, and occasioning a spot on a printed sheet. MacKellar. 7. (Paint.) That which is picked in, as with a pointed pencil, to correct an unevenness in a picture. 8. (Weawing) The blow whi スポンサード リンク
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