choose

verb

\ ˈchüz

chose\ ˈchōz

\; chosen\ ˈchō-zᵊn

\; choosing\ ˈchü-ziŋ

Definition of choose

transitive verb

1a : to select freely and after consideration choose a career

b : to decide on especially by vote : elect chose her as captain

2a : to have a preference for choose one car over another

b : decide chose to go by train

intransitive verb

1 : to make a selection finding it hard to choose

2 : 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

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Choose the Right Synonym for choose

choose, elect, and select mean to decide upon one possibility from among several. choose is used for making a decision after careful thought. She chose to follow the right course. elect may be used for the deliberate picking of one thing over another. Voters elect one candidate for president. select is used when there are many things from which to choose. Customers may select from a variety of goods.

Examples of choose in a Sentence

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, (l953) 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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Rather than coating the entire eye area with the electric wash of color, however, Ta chose deliberately added it only to the inner corners of the eye, giving Hadid a subtle transformation that's street-style approved. — Jenna Rennert, Vogue, "Gigi Hadid Shows How a Risky Eyeshadow Shade Is Done," 5 Mar. 2019 When choosing makeup to cover up your chest, opt for a product that is made for acne prone skin, so as not to irritate the area even more. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Get Rid of Chest Acne in a Zap With These Tips," 5 Mar. 2019 Ahead, over 50 of the best skin-plumping and line-smoothing creams, serums, lotions, and treatments as chosen by our expert panel of dermatologists, makeup artists, beauty editors, and influencers. — Harper's BAZAAR, "BAZAAR's 2019 Anti-Aging Awards," 4 Mar. 2019 For the dining chairs, Beall chose a deep red velvet relief fabric by Jonathan Adler that’s durable enough for nightly meals. — Vanessa Gregory, ELLE Decor, "A Recently Renovated Mid-Century Home in Knoxville, Tennessee," 7 Feb. 2019 It was rumored that the Duchess, with an estimated due date of late April, had chosen to take a different direction to her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, and her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "This Hint Suggests Meghan Markle May Give Birth in the Lindo Wing After All," 4 Feb. 2019 Instead of wearing a traditional fancy handbag, the Descendents star chose to carry a much more important accessory: a Time's Up ribbon. — Kelsey Stiegman, Seventeen, "Sofia Carson's 2019 Golden Globes Dress Has a Powerful Hidden Message," 7 Jan. 2019 Acer Acer chose to incorporate a push-to-open webcam, which can sometimes be of limited utility. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Acer's new Swift 7 ultra-thin PC is even smaller, but adds Thunderbolt, Amber Lake and a clickpad," 6 Jan. 2019 So Mika pushed through and chose an easy hike to ring in her 33rd birthday. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "Doctors Kept Calling It Stress. Then I Learned I Had a 98% Blockage in My Heart.," 7 Feb. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'choose.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.