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

The 2022 second-round pick out of Florida struck out 30 and walked just four while allowing nine hits. —Melissa Lockard, New York Times, 1 May 2025

Lively herself picked out the hat from Fiore, a local shop in Capri. —Benjamin Vanhoose, People.com, 30 Apr. 2025

About three degrees below it will be Saturn, shining about 170 times dimmer but still relatively easy to pick out in the gathering light of dawn. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025

The 2023 second-round draft pick out of Arizona State kept up the momentum, stroking seven hits including two doubles while taking five walks in his first 26 trips to the plate for a stellar 1.065 OPS and .368 batting average. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Apr. 2025

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