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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
Asked about immigration solutions for Congress to tackle, Latino voters polled picked investigating ICE as a top priority, alongside immigration changes like a pathway to citizenship and ending the immigration detention of children and families. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026 Having picked it up for its 2025-26 season, CBS then pushed it to the following 2026-27 season. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026 The papers quickly disappeared as office workers picked them up on their way home. — Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026 To give you an inside scoop on what’s coming down the pike in the next few months, the automotive experts at Edmunds have picked five vehicles that promise to be well worth the wait. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026 Inside a Cantonese restaurant with a view of the foggy San Francisco night, a place picked by my oh-so sophisticated local cousin Noreen, plates piled with orange chicken and honey walnut shrimp paraded past me on the lazy Susan in the center. — Daniel Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026 The witness said Stigger then called back and told her to disregard his request because Culp came back and picked him up. — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2026 The scent evokes a vegetable garden more than a kitchen, with notes of warm soil and leafy produce picked straight from the plant. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026 The prime minister and chief of staff had picked the general to coordinate the military mission of flipping Hungary to the Allied side. — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for picked
  1. selected
  2. harvested
  3. took
  4. provoked
  5. nibbled
  6. stabbed
  7. select
  8. gathered
Adjective
  • The Pope Leo Village Homes initiative is underway in Bronzeville with five of the seven area homes under construction and two with selected homeowners.
    — Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Some cool features include a kill switch that automatically disconnects you from the internet if the VPN connection fails, as well as split tunneling that allows selected apps to use the VPN connection while others transmit data in clear text.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 June 2026
Definition of selected
Verb
  • Surrounded by its own garden, the restaurant builds much of its menu upon a base of herbs and vegetables, like kale and carrots harvested mere steps from the open-concept kitchen.
    — Nikkita Nair, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Research has found that produce starts to lose nutritional value as soon as it’s harvested.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of harvested
Verb
  • The casing is consistent with the same caliber of weapon that Jones had in his possession when police took him into custody, a Fort Worth Police Department homicide unit detective wrote in an arrest warrant affidavit.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026
  • This latest group of founders stands on the shoulders of giants from the noughties like Spotify, Klarna, and Skype, who themselves took inspiration from the postwar design empires of IKEA, H&M and Tetra Pak (modernizer of the milk carton).
    — Jan Larsson, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of took
Verb
  • Even in a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world, the scale of the killings in such a short space of time has provoked shock.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Ayer came on board the film after reading Cameron Alexander’s script, which provoked such a strong emotional response that the director couldn’t resist taking the material on.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 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
  • According to testimony, Pham and Salerno moved Collins into the bathroom after Lavery hit her, but Lavery followed and stabbed her over and over, leaving blood on the tiles, walls and shower curtain — which had images of knives on it.
    — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Labour legislator Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of stabbed
Adjective
  • Here's the full Premier League schedule for this weekend, and how to watch select matches, for free.
    — Jason Cohen, PC Magazine, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The film will debut in select theaters on November 6 before dropping on Apple TV on November 13.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of select
Verb
  • Most of the furniture comes from the owner’s personal collection, gathered over the course of a lifetime from visits to flea markets all over Europe.
    — Julia Wytrazek, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Dabrowski’s favorite moment came outside the livestream of the Telfar event from New York, where young Parisians gathered in a spirit of community, dressing with individuality rather than for the cameras.
    — Alex Badia, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of gathered

Phrases Containing picked

Browse Nearby Words

pick at
picked
picked at
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Picked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picked. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All