picked off

verb

past tense of pick off
as in intercepted
to stop, seize, or interrupt while in progress or on course picked off more passes than any other player in the division

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of picked off Late in the third quarter, McDuffie picked off a pass, setting up Puka Nacua’s 18-yard catch and run for a touchdown. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026 Goff has thrown 223 passes without getting picked off, ranking sixth among quarterbacks for the most pass attempts without an interception to start a season. — Larry Lage, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026 But Smith's throw into the end zone with 14 seconds left was picked off by Chinn. — Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 1 Nov. 2026 Expect Trinidad Chambliss, picked off three times by Texas, to be better against an Auburn defense that’s allowed over 700 yards passing over last two games. — ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026 Darnold, under pressure, tried to find Rasheed Shaheed in the endzone, only to get picked off by Noah Williams. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026 Then Mahomes returned the favor, lofting a ball into traffic in the back of the end zone that the Chargers picked off. — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026 Ashlynd Barker picked off the pass in the end zone intended for Cooper Barkate on Miami’s opening drive of the second half. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026 Georgia native Kyle Hamilton picked off the pass for the Ravens, which sealed their victory. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for picked off
  1. intercepted
  2. grabbed
  3. captured
  4. caught
  5. blocked
Verb
  • After Moorpark defensive back Blake Davidson intercepted a Trabuco Hills pass, Tweedy broke free for a 76-yard touchdown on the next play.
    — Lesa Greenfield, Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • On third-and-goal from the Utah 2-yard line, Bachmeier dropped back to pass and tried to throw a slant, but linebacker Trey Reynolds jumped the route and intercepted the ball, ending the scoring threat.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of intercepted
Verb
  • One of the officers grabbed a protester who was filming him and deployed pepper spray after a brief struggle.
    — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The story grabbed worldwide attention and ended tragically when the baby’s body was found in the woods just a few miles from home.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of grabbed
Verb
  • Security camera footage captured the children arriving to seek help as gunfire could still be heard in the distance.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Democrats captured seven Senate seats nationally, a number that could rise to nine with two races yet to be called.
    — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of captured
Verb
  • Phillips caught a bad break when her approach to the green hit a tree branch on its upward flight and dropped 20 yards short of the green.
    — Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
  • China was also caught in the regional sell-off, with the tech-heavy STAR Market and the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence Index both tumbling more than 4%.
    — Lee Ying Shan,Jenny Lee, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of caught
Verb
  • Meta’s Muse, launched in September, checks out for consumers at major retailers, but Amazon blocked it within two weeks.
    — Rob Green, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • In a viral moment from the third quarter in Week 8, Mayfield blocked Falcons safety Jessie Bates III into the end zone during Kenneth Gainwell’s 28-yard run to the Atlanta 6-yard line.
    — Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of blocked

Browse Nearby Words

picked at
picked off
picked on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Picked off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picked%20off. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gauntlet

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All