unpick

verb

un·​pick ˌən-ˈpik How to pronounce unpick (audio)
unpicked; unpicking; unpicks

transitive verb

: to undo by taking out stitches
unpick sewing/embroidery/knitting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web That’s partly because the effects of chemical and material tweaks can often be too complex to unpick. The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 17 May 2022 To unpick a nuclear device, engineers need to know the exact sequence in which the pieces were originally put together. Benjamin Plackett, Discover Magazine, 8 Feb. 2019 That’s a question that Copson, a 30-year-old visual artist who typically trades in freaky and fantastical projections and laser installations, is attempting to unpick via Last Days. Liam Hess, Vogue, 7 Oct. 2022 What Matter’s to Today’s Consumer’ helps unpick changes in consumer behaviour, and understand what might be temporary or more permanent shifts. Catherine Erdly, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2022 The camera presents their evidence as fact, forcing the audience to unpick the truth from the lies and deceit. CNN, 5 Nov. 2021 That inauthenticity combines human agency and technological amplification in a way that is often impossible to unpick. Hari Kunzru, The New York Review of Books, 5 Nov. 2020 Take off your clothes, your flesh. . . . unpick the lock of your bones. Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 17 May 2021 Dramatic scenes in Texas as a late-night bid to stop an election bill fails, President Joe Biden's attempts to unpick his predecessor's Medicaid changes and the latest on hopes for the Iran nuclear deal. Patrick Smith, NBC News, 7 May 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unpick.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1775, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unpick was circa 1775

Dictionary Entries Near unpick

Cite this Entry

“Unpick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unpick. Accessed 29 Mar. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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