pick out

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive

   to choose one thing or person from a group, often after thinking about it

   Grammar: Takes an object: pick out a shirt. The object can go after out or between pick and out, but a pronoun goes in the middle: pick it out.

   Patterns

   • pick out something
   • pick something out
   • pick out something from something

   She picked out a blue dress for the party.

   Can you pick out a good book for me to read on the train?

   He picked out three apples from the box.

2. 2verbtransitive

   to recognize or notice someone or something among others

   Grammar: Takes an object: pick out a face. Often used with can/could: I could pick out her voice.

   Patterns

   • pick out something
   • pick something out
   • pick out something in something

   I could pick out my mother's voice in the crowd.

   It was hard to pick out the words in the noisy recording.

   Can you pick out the mistake in this sentence?

3. 3verbtransitive

   to play a tune on a musical instrument slowly, note by note

   Grammar: Takes an object: pick out a tune. Usually used for stringed instruments like the guitar.

   Patterns

   • pick out a tune
   • pick out a melody

   He picked out a simple tune on his guitar.

   She can pick out any song by ear.

Common combinations

pick out a dress

She spent an hour picking out a dress for the wedding.

pick out a gift

He picked out a gift for his sister's birthday.

pick out a face

In the old photograph, I could just pick out my grandfather's face.

pick out a tune

She picked out a tune on the piano.

pick out details

The telescope helps us pick out details on the moon's surface.

Synonyms and how they differ

choose

Choose is more general and doesn't always suggest careful selection from a group; pick out often implies noticing or selecting something specific.

select

Select is more formal and often used for official or technical choices; pick out is more everyday.

identify

Identify means to recognize and name something; pick out focuses on noticing one thing among others, sometimes without naming it.

Commonly confused: pick out or pick up?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pick out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words