choose

verb

ˈchüz

chose ˈchōz

; chosen ˈchō-zᵊn

; choosing ˈchü-ziŋ

Synonyms of choose next

transitive verb

: to select freely and after consideration

choose a career

: to decide on especially by vote : elect

chose her as captain

: to have a preference for

choose one car over another

: decide

chose to go by train

intransitive verb

: to make a selection

finding it hard to choose

: to take an alternative

—used after cannot and usually followed by but

when earth is so kind, men cannot choose but be happy—

J. A. Froude

chooser

ˈchü-zər

noun

Example Sentences

Each year thousands of college students choose volunteer-service trips over beach bumming during their spring breaks and summer vacations. —

Edward M. Kennedy, Time, 22 Sept. 2008

I had been invited to choose certain things that I might want from the house, but although there were indeed a couple of things that I would have liked, I was withheld from making the trip … —

Alice Adams, "Why I Write," in The Story and Its Writer, edited by Ann Charters, 1987

… as an instructor at New York University he chose to live by himself in lodgings that for the time must have been very expensive … —

William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, (1953) 1982

Any summary I might try to write for the rest of the novel would be worthless and I don't choose to waste my time at it. —

Flannery O'Connor, The Habit of Being, 1979

The political party chose a leader. They chose her as the team captain. We've chosen a different time to go. He was chosen because he's qualified for the job. She was chosen from a long list of people. He chose his words carefully. Which shirt would you choose? How do I choose when there's so much available? Let everyone choose for themselves. You can choose from among a number of alternatives. See More

Recent Examples on the Web For customers, choosing the Havoc Edition awards mostly visual changes, the most prominent of which is the most visually obvious— and clearly involves a lot of yellow paint. —

Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 18 May 2023 Connie chose the pace of city life and was a fixture in the moneyed circles of Washington and New York. —

Leena Kim, Town & Country, 18 May 2023 The key to managing oily skin (and treating acne) lies in choosing the right cleanser. —

Katie Berohn, goodhousekeeping.com, 18 May 2023 But like Russia those states themselves have chosen military strategies that depend on threats of nuclear weapon use. —

Zia Mian, Scientific American, 17 May 2023 In order to do that, builders and architects are choosing to reduce the size of the latter options to give way to the former. —

Alena Botros, Fortune, 17 May 2023 Florida hires private companies to handle migrants Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has chosen three companies to execute the next phase of its migrant relocation program, according to documents obtained by CNN. —

Holly Yan, CNN, 17 May 2023 Party committees would select nominees, and state party leadership would choose the nominee for each party. —

Rachel Looker, USA TODAY, 17 May 2023 He was accepted into Morehouse College but instead chose to enlist in the Air Force, where he was stationed at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina. —

Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'choose.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.