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

Most of its performance therefore reflects movements in global equity and bond markets rather than discretionary stock picking. — Bloomberg, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026

Critics, including some Republicans and economists, warn against the state picking winners and losers. — James K. Glassman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

As a bonus, the season also brings plenty of opportunities for apple picking, pumpkin patches, and other seasonal activities. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 28 July 2026

Summer meant waiting until those wild berry bushes hidden in the woods near grandma’s house were finally ripe for the picking. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 27 July 2026

Mangoes are ripe for the picking in South Florida and the avocado trees are full. — Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026

The investment is seen as a validation of Sereact’s Cortex technology, a universal AI operating system that can run across multiple hardware forms such as single-arm picking cells, dual-arm return stations, and humanoid robots. — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 21 July 2026

Larger pests, like slugs, are best controlled with hand-picking or by companion planting petunias with plants that naturally deter pests. — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 14 July 2026

Angelica volunteers every year for picking, but that ain’t never gonna happen. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 13 July 2026

Verb

Antioch Full Gospel Baptist Church members who are facing off in court over control of the College Station congregation will meet Monday to determine the process for picking who gets to preach. — Arkansas Online, 15 Aug. 2026

Austria has entered the 2027 Oscar race, picking the Sandra Hüller period drama Rose to represent the country in the best international feature category. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2026

He was not allowed to drive himself anywhere, with the club offering additional protection, with security picking him up and dropping him off. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026

How are fans reacting to what appears to be the NFL picking the next potential Swift replacements? — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026

Security video obtained by CBS News Miami shows the delivery driver dropping a package at a front door, looking around, and then picking the item back up. — Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

Eldridge also credits his teammates for picking him up, especially the veterans such as Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman and Logan Webb. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026

The casualties of picking wrong fill the YC fintech graveyard. — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

As the back-and-forth plays out between the former couple, Senate Republicans are increasingly picking a side. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2026