pickier; pickiest
: very careful or too careful about choosing or accepting things : fussy, choosy
a picky eater
Because pen collectors are a picky lot, and some antiques dealers who are not in the pen business can overlook the details of condition, there is occasional friction.Bill Holland
With rising ticket prices and new competition from cable TV, cost-conscious families may be pickier about the movies they choose to see.David Ansen and Martin Kasindorf
pickiness noun
Taylor mocks Zavala for the size of his extended Mexican family, their endless chatter and the frequency of their quinceaneras. Zavala ribs Taylor for his white-person pickiness about artisanal coffee and marriage. Belinda Luscombe
Now jobless and forced to live with five housemates in San Jose, Calif., she comes away from every job interview discouraged by employers' pickiness. Daniel McGinn

Examples of picky in a Sentence

a picky cat who would only eat one particular kind of food, and only if it was served in his special dish she's picky, but she always finds the best quality in fresh meat and fish
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Cherry laurel isn't super picky and will tolerate dry, poor, and alkaline soils, salt, as well as heavy pruning. Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 10 June 2025 For younger children or more picky eaters, start with something simple and approachable, like steaming edamame (young soybeans) or adding black beans to a cheesy quesadilla. Dr. Kelly Fradin, CNBC, 20 May 2025 Call me picky, but 18 playoff teams is too many for a 30-team league. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2025 Pets can be pretty picky, especially with their food and water. Bestreviews, Mercury News, 5 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for picky

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of picky was in 1917

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Cite this Entry

“Picky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picky. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

picky

adjective
pickier; pickiest

More from Merriam-Webster on picky

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