as in intercepting
to stop, seize, or interrupt while in progress or on course
picked off more passes than any other player in the division
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Recent Examples of picking off
Fitzpatrick spent most of six seasons with the Steelers, making the All-Pro team three times while picking off 18 passes during that time.
—
Dennis Waszak, Hartford Courant, 9 Mar. 2026
Unsurprisingly, a new Ghostface shows up on set and begins picking off both the cast and their real-life counterparts.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Mar. 2026
Among those career interceptions were the game-sealing one against the Minnesota Vikings, picking off the great Fran Tarkenton to give the Steelers the Super Bowl IX victory — the franchise’s first.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026
The lasting memory of his seven-year NFL tenure will be the astute recognition of a Seahawks goal-line concept, blowing up receiver Ricardo Lockette and picking off quarterback Russell Wilson to let New England prevail.
—Sam Warren, Houston Chronicle, 4 Feb. 2026
Quadruple Loop This jump is more difficult because Malinin takes off and lands on the same leg, without the assistance of picking off the ice.
—Alice Park, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Sounds like Canada is picking off our friends.
—CBS News, 25 Jan. 2026
And Abrams-Draine still managed to emerge with just a few flecks of soot after getting thrown in the fire last season, picking off Justin Herbert in a loss to the Chargers and establishing himself as a building block in a spot start.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025
Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson, who had earlier recovered a fumble and has been on a playmaking tear, opened the second half by picking off Geno Smith and putting the Bears at the Raiders’ 40-yard line.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Dennis Waszak, Hartford Courant, 9 Mar. 2026
Unsurprisingly, a new Ghostface shows up on set and begins picking off both the cast and their real-life counterparts.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Mar. 2026
Among those career interceptions were the game-sealing one against the Minnesota Vikings, picking off the great Fran Tarkenton to give the Steelers the Super Bowl IX victory — the franchise’s first.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026
The lasting memory of his seven-year NFL tenure will be the astute recognition of a Seahawks goal-line concept, blowing up receiver Ricardo Lockette and picking off quarterback Russell Wilson to let New England prevail.
—Sam Warren, Houston Chronicle, 4 Feb. 2026
Quadruple Loop This jump is more difficult because Malinin takes off and lands on the same leg, without the assistance of picking off the ice.
—Alice Park, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Sounds like Canada is picking off our friends.
—CBS News, 25 Jan. 2026
And Abrams-Draine still managed to emerge with just a few flecks of soot after getting thrown in the fire last season, picking off Justin Herbert in a loss to the Chargers and establishing himself as a building block in a spot start.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025
Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson, who had earlier recovered a fumble and has been on a playmaking tear, opened the second half by picking off Geno Smith and putting the Bears at the Raiders’ 40-yard line.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for picking off
Verb
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Greece has dispatched four F-16 fighter jets to the Paphos air base, and its frigates Kimon and Psara are already patrolling off Cyprus, tasked with intercepting any missiles or drones.—
Sylvie Corbet,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
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More major energy infrastructure was threatened over the weekend, with Saudi Arabia intercepting and destroying drones heading to the 1-million barrel a day Shaybah oil field.—
Bloomberg Wire,
Dallas Morning News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Wembanyama had back-to-back dunks in the second quarter, including grabbing his own miss and throwing it down for what became a three-point play on a foul by Javonte Green.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
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Brigham is also charged with assaulting a man by grabbing and twisting his genitals.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Early in the second period, just after Greaves got caught out of the net while playing a puck to his right, Provorov hustled to the other side of the net and sprawled across the ice, blocking a shot by Florida’s Tomas Nosek that would have tied the score at 1.—
Aaron Portzline,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Enter Brick, an app-blocking device.—
Catherine Garcia,
TheWeek,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Picking off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picking%20off. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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