pick (something) clean
idiom
: to remove all the material that covers something
The birds picked the bones clean.
Examples of pick (something) clean in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The beetles can pick clean a small bird within a couple of days, but may need two weeks for larger skeletons like the gannet.
—
Corey Kilgannon, New York Times, 13 May 2025
On Super Bowl Sunday alone, sticky-fingered Americans might pick clean 1.4 billion of the chicken’s dinkiest, boniest cut.
—Matthew Korfhage, USA TODAY, 23 Nov. 2021
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Corey Kilgannon, New York Times, 13 May 2025
On Super Bowl Sunday alone, sticky-fingered Americans might pick clean 1.4 billion of the chicken’s dinkiest, boniest cut.
—Matthew Korfhage, USA TODAY, 23 Nov. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Pick (something) clean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pick%20%28something%29%20clean. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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