Synonyms of picking

picking 1 of 2

noun

as in choice

the act or process of selecting

the picking of new recruits went on for three days

Synonyms & Similar Words

• choice
• election
• selecting
• choosing
• selection
• nomination
• decision
• naming
• option
• appointment
• designation
• assignment

picking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of pick

1

as in harvesting

to catch or collect (a crop or natural resource) for human use

pick peas and beans from the garden for dinner

Synonyms & Similar Words

• harvesting
• gathering
• reaping
• growing
• fishing
• mowing
• accumulating
• cutting
• gleaning
• foraging
• sealing
• garnering
• hunting
• capturing
• cropping
• bagging
• trapping
• whaling
• clamming
• raising
• netting
• shrimping
• snaring
• haying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• planting
• seeding
• sowing

2

as in selecting

to decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities

I pick you as my partner

Synonyms & Similar Words

• selecting
• choosing
• taking
• naming
• electing
• preferring
• culling
• designating
• tagging
• handpicking
• cherry-picking
• singling (out)
• opting (for)
• nominating
• tapping
• appointing
• adopting
• accepting
• marking
• preselecting
• fixing
• embracing
• setting
• tabbing
• settling (on or upon)
• espousing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rejecting
• refusing
• declining
• turning down
• discarding
• repudiating
• disapproving
• spurning
• throwing away
• throwing out
• jettisoning
• negativing

3

as in provoking

to bring (something volatile or intense) into being

he seems to be trying to pick a fight

Synonyms & Similar Words

• provoking
• raising
• promoting
• triggering
• encouraging
• cultivating
• instigating
• fermenting
• inciting
• fomenting
• brewing
• stimulating
• stirring (up)
• whipping (up)
• abetting
• setting in motion
• fostering
• sowing
• furthering
• advancing
• forwarding
• nurturing
• detonating
• motivating
• nourishing
• inspiring
• setting
• activating
• setting off
• rousing
• exciting
• galvanizing
• firing
• inflaming
• energizing
• invigorating
• enlivening
• quickening
• vitalizing
• jazzing (up)
• pepping (up)
• livening (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• checking
• holding
• regulating
• restraining
• inhibiting
• discouraging
• constraining
• curbing
• taming
• settling
• soothing
• reining (in)
• subduing
• calming
• bridling
• quieting
• allaying
• stilling
• tranquilizing

4

as in nibbling

to eat reluctantly and in small bites

still suffering from the shock of his wife's death, he could do no more than pick halfheartedly at his food

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nibbling
• pecking
• snacking
• grazing
• tasting
• noshing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gorging
• overeating
• swilling
• pigging out
• gormandizing

5

as in stabbing

to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object

continued to pick the block of ice until she was able to extract the shrimp

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stabbing
• jabbing
• puncturing
• sticking
• piercing
• pecking
• spitting
• poking
• slicing
• spiking
• spearing
• punching
• skewering
• impaling
• running through
• harpooning
• lancing
• transfixing
• goring
• transpiercing
• pinking
• cutting
• spindling
• perforating
• riddling
• pricking
• thrusting
• bayoneting
• piking
• knifing
• gimleting
• quilling
• pronging
• pinpricking
• dirking
• poniarding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of picking

Noun

Today, the 31-year-old is sneakily skilled in ways beyond classical picking or noisy shredding. — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026

The area abounds with outdoor activities, like hikes at Olivia’s Overlook, and apple picking during the fall at Windy Hill farm. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026

This season, bold knits and unexpected color pairings are ripe for the picking, courtesy of Tory Burch. — Ciarra Lorren Zatorski, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2026

By 2002, the group had disbanded, but some of its members founded TOOOL and went on to launch yearly lock-picking competitions. — Shayla Love, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026

Hilton’s ‘travel with purpose’ program encourages employees to engage in community projects such as litter picking, cleaning river banks, and helping young people with CV writing. — Sam Forsdick, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026

Guests can also look forward to pumpkin picking, the seasonal corn maze, and other fresh goods sold at the Apple Barrel Farm Market. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026

The company’s website describes Nucleus as providing humanoid labor to factories by the hour, with current applications including parts picking, shelf loading, product handling, and cart transport. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026

Travel experts recommend Washington for an autumn escape filled with golden larches, apple picking, wine tasting, misty rainforests, and charming mountain towns. — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 21 Sep. 2026

Verb

Instead, studios seem to be picking works that come with a hungry audience attached but can still exist independent of their roots. — Emily Maskell, IndieWire, 22 Oct. 2026

This news comes the same day that reports started making the rounds of Jay-Z picking himself to handle Super Bowl halftime show duties, something U2 happens to know a thing or two about. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Koski and Nickell, both 52, joked that picking a favorite climb would be like picking a favorite child, but they are particularly drawn to mountains in the Lemhi Range, such as Bell Mountain and Diane’s Peak. — Harllie Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 20 Oct. 2026

While the robot will continue carrying bins, our road map includes many more tasks, from picking individual items and tending machines, to preparing parts for assembly and shipping, and eventually doing assembly work itself. — IEEE Spectrum, 19 Oct. 2026

Always bend your knees and never overextend while picking something up. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026

Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest of Taybeh Church, said the diplomats had come to join farmers picking olives, and that settlers who stole olives from the trees beat up several members of the mission and attacked the Belgian consul’s car. — Gerry Shih, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2026

Spend your time exploring local vineyards (or staying overnight in one), picking apples, plums, and pears in orchards come autumn, and trying out ice skating with the locals in the winter on a stretch of the Trans Canada Trail. — Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 17 Oct. 2026

While the three were picking their way through a clump of trees at the far end of the cornfield, half a dozen does came out of the willows single file, walked under my platform within six yards of me, and started to feed. — Al Dawson, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026