picks off

Definition of picks offnext
present tense third-person singular of pick off
as in intercepts
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

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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 picks off George Rose / Getty Images Over the course of his NFL playing days, Jim had 19 interceptions, including picks off the likes of legendary quarterbacks like Len Dawson, Archie Manning and Joe Namath. Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026 On another night, Notre Dame picks off Reed two or three times. Pete Sampson, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for picks off
Verb
  • The process intercepts industrial carbon emissions before they are released into the atmosphere and converts them into recycled fibers.
    Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Kagan and his colleagues showed that within minutes, neurons on microchips could learn to play Pong, the classic video game in which a player repeatedly intercepts a ball—think two-dimensional ping-pong.
    Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 28 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Fans start to notice what's happening about five seconds into it, and then another man comes up behind the fan, grabs him and tackles him into the seats.
    Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
  • And if no candidate grabs a majority in either of those races, this district’s voters might have to go to the polls four times.
    East Bay Times editorial board, Mercury News, 7 May 2026
Verb
  • In contrast, targeting NTR1 activates a particular signaling protein and blocks pain.
    Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
  • But then maybe Embiid blocks him from behind.
    Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 4 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Picks off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picks%20off. Accessed 13 May. 2026.

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