as in to choose
to decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities
cherry-picked the spacious corner office for his corporate fief
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Recent Examples of cherry-pick
Cursor’s approach is to cherry-pick the best models available, supplement them with proprietary ones where necessary, and wrap it all into what Truell says is the best user interface for AI coding.
—
Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2025
Some of the founders were indeed devout Christians and these folks cherry-pick Christian quotations from them.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 5 Dec. 2025
Following Democrats’ release, Republicans accused Democrats of cherry-picking the emails, later releasing a tranche of 20,000 pages of documents both sides received from the Epstein estate last week.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 13 Nov. 2025
To justify going to war against Iraq—which had played no role at all in the 9/11 attacks—Cheney reached into the bureaucracies to cherry-pick intelligence that would support deposing Saddam.
—Karl Vick, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cherry-pick
Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2025
Some of the founders were indeed devout Christians and these folks cherry-pick Christian quotations from them.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 5 Dec. 2025
Following Democrats’ release, Republicans accused Democrats of cherry-picking the emails, later releasing a tranche of 20,000 pages of documents both sides received from the Epstein estate last week.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 13 Nov. 2025
To justify going to war against Iraq—which had played no role at all in the 9/11 attacks—Cheney reached into the bureaucracies to cherry-pick intelligence that would support deposing Saddam.
—Karl Vick, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cherry-pick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cherry-pick
Verb
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In some respects, a person might choose to use music therapy on their own, though I am mainly focused in this discussion on music therapy that is part of an overarching therapeutic plan being overseen by a professional clinician.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
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Cities that are satisfied with the service that DART provides could choose to forgo the 25% return and let the transit agency use the funds.—
Lilly Kersh,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That means Stidham will face off against New England, the team that selected him in the fourth round of the 2019 Draft, to earn a ticket to the Super Bowl.—
Lance Reynolds,
Boston Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
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Buss was also reportedly disappointed in James’ reaction after the Lakers selected his son, Bronny James, in the 2024 NBA Draft.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Then, later that week while playing pick-up basketball, his season came crashing down.—
Marielle Mohs,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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Add 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and 2 small sprigs thyme, leaves picked, and cook, stirring often, until radicchio is softened and wilted, 5–8 minutes.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cherry-pick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cherry-pick. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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