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

Other Words from choose Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about choose

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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

Though the announcement didn't clarify why the studio was chosen, Lemon Sky's work on last year's solid StarCraft Remastered may have had something to do with it. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Original Command & Conquer devs will remaster series’ first games in one package," 14 Nov. 2018 The Vanity Case retails for $110 and comes in five colors — cobalt blue, oxblood, millennial pink, pinky-beige, and white — all chosen by Martin and the Cuyana founders so there would be an option for everyone, regardless of taste, age, or gender. — Sophia Panych, Allure, "Makeup Artist Daniel Martin Launches a Genius Travel Makeup Bag With Cuyana," 1 Nov. 2018 She's repeatedly chosen to wear the label's designs for important occasions, from Princess Eugenie's recent wedding to her own royal nuptials. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Kate Middleton Pairs the Lover's Knot Tiara with an Alexander McQueen Dress for the Dutch State Dinner," 23 Oct. 2018 Once the winning design was chosen, all 58 students worked together to build the stick-frame house, which also features solar panels on the roof. — Tanay Warerkar, Curbed, "Yale architecture students built this innovative timber home for the formerly homeless," 17 Oct. 2018 Everyone else would take the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, as fans of The Crown will remember the controversial hyphenation chosen by the Queen for her descendents. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Kids Won't Be Princes or Princesses," 15 Oct. 2018 The seasonality of Eugenie’s wedding flowers are dramatically different from the mostly white palettes chosen by the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex, whose weddings both took place in the spring. — Tamara Abraham, Harper's BAZAAR, "Princess Eugenie's Wedding Flowers are a Celebration of Fall," 12 Oct. 2018 Canadian actor Mena Massoud was cast in the title role as lovable street rat Aladdin, and British actress Naomi Scott was chosen to play Princess Jasmine. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "The First Teaser Trailer for Disney's Live-Action 'Aladdin' Is Here," 12 Oct. 2018 It was meant to provide coverage for books from other publishers as well as original fiction chosen by Tor editors. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "How Tor.com went from website to a publisher of sci-fi’s most innovative stories," 8 Sep. 2018

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.