pick out

verb

picked out; picking out; picks out

transitive verb

1

: discern, make out

2

: to play the notes of by ear or one by one

picking out tunes on the piano

Examples of pick out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Of course, many high picks out of high school struggle initially with pitching in the minors. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026

From these arrangements, the mathematician picked out the ones that looked most promising. — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026

Malik Nabers, whom the Giants hope will be ready for Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, is another first-round pick out of LSU who has shown flashes of greatness. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026

So the Giants’ 2019 fifth-round pick out of Auburn has been here before. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pick out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

pick out

verb

1

: to see or detect with some difficulty

picked out the trail in the snow

2

: to play the notes of by ear or one by one

pick out a tune