To pick off

To pick off
Pick Pick (p[i^]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Picked} (p[i^]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Picking}.] [OE. picken, pikken, to prick, peck; akin to Icel. pikka, Sw. picka, Dan. pikke, D. pikken, G. picken, F. piquer, W. pigo. Cf. {Peck}, v., {Pike}, {Pitch} to throw.] 1. To throw; to pitch. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

As high as I could pick my lance. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. To peck at, as a bird with its beak; to strike at with anything pointed; to act upon with a pointed instrument; to pierce; to prick, as with a pin. [1913 Webster]

3. To separate or open by means of a sharp point or points; as, to pick matted wool, cotton, oakum, etc. [1913 Webster]

4. To open (a lock) as by a wire. [1913 Webster]

5. To pull apart or away, especially with the fingers; to pluck; to gather, as fruit from a tree, flowers from the stalk, feathers from a fowl, etc. [1913 Webster]

6. To remove something from with a pointed instrument, with the fingers, or with the teeth; as, to pick the teeth; to pick a bone; to pick a goose; to pick a pocket. [1913 Webster]

Did you pick Master Slender's purse? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

He picks clean teeth, and, busy as he seems With an old tavern quill, is hungry yet. --Cowper. [1913 Webster]

7. To choose; to select; to separate as choice or desirable; to cull; as, to pick one's company; to pick one's way; -- often with out. ``One man picked out of ten thousand.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

8. To take up; esp., to gather from here and there; to collect; to bring together; as, to pick rags; -- often with up; as, to pick up a ball or stones; to pick up information. [1913 Webster]

9. To trim. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

{To pick at}, to tease or vex by pertinacious annoyance.

{To pick a bone with}. See under {Bone}.

{To pick a thank}, to curry favor. [Obs.] --Robynson (More's Utopia).

{To pick off}. (a) To pluck; to remove by picking. (b) To shoot or bring down, one by one; as, sharpshooters pick off the enemy.

{To pick out}. (a) To mark out; to variegate; as, to pick out any dark stuff with lines or spots of bright colors. (b) To select from a number or quantity.

{To pick to pieces}, to pull apart piece by piece; hence [Colloq.], to analyze; esp., to criticize in detail.

{To pick a quarrel}, to give occasion of quarrel intentionally.

{To pick up}. (a) To take up, as with the fingers. (b) To get by repeated efforts; to gather here and there; as, to pick up a livelihood; to pick up news. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Pick off — Pick off, v. t. 1. (Baseball) to put out a baserunner who is off base by tagging him/her, especially by a quick throw from the pitcher or catcher. [PJC] 2. to shoot so as to kill or disable, especially one by one from a position or in a situation …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pick off — ► pick off shoot (one of a group) from a distance. Main Entry: ↑pick …   English terms dictionary

  • pick-off — pick′ off n. spo a baseball play in which a base runner, caught off base, is tagged out by an infielder on a quick throw • Etymology: 1935–40 …   From formal English to slang

  • pick|off — «PIHK F, OF», noun. 1. a baseball play in which a runner is caught off base by a sudden throw from the pitcher or catcher: »They proved that a perfect pickoff at first could be foozled not once but again (New York Times). 2. an offensive play in… …   Useful english dictionary

  • pick off — verb 1. shoot one by one (Freq. 1) • Hypernyms: ↑shoot, ↑pip • Verb Frames: Somebody s somebody 2. pull or pull out sharply (Freq. 1) pluck the flowers off the bush …   Useful english dictionary

  • pick off — 1. verb a) An attempt to throw out a runner leading off a base. The pitcher attempted to pick off the runner at first, but he was safe. b) Successfully picking off a runner. The pitcher picked off the runner to get an out …   Wiktionary

  • pick off — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms pick off : present tense I/you/we/they pick off he/she/it picks off present participle picking off past tense picked off past participle picked off to shoot people, animals, or aircraft one by one by aiming at …   English dictionary

  • pick·off — /ˈpıkˌɑːf/ noun, pl offs [count] US baseball : a play in which a runner who is close to a base is tagged out when the pitcher or catcher quickly throws the ball to that base He made a pickoff throw to third base. see also pick off at ↑pick, 1 …   Useful english dictionary

  • pick-off — /pik awf , of /, n. 1. Baseball. a play in which a base runner, caught off base, is tagged out by an infielder on a quick throw, usually from the pitcher or catcher. 2. Electronics. a mechanism that senses mechanical motion and produces a… …   Universalium

  • pick off — phr verb Pick off is used with these nouns as the object: ↑shelf …   Collocations dictionary

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