picked off
Caught stealing base
Picked off means removed or eliminated one at a time, often selectively or opportunistically.
A sniper picks off targets.
A fielder picks off a runner who strays too far from base.
Predators pick off stragglers from a herd.
The phrase suggests deliberate, individual targeting rather than wholesale destruction: The competition picked off our best employees one by one.
- targetObject of pursuit
- easy targetVulnerable person or thing
- sitting duckDefenseless person or thing
- snipeHidden-position shooting
- sniper rifleScoped firearm for distant targets
steal · single out · singled out · isolate · ambush · intercept · base runner · neutralize · snatch · shoot · eliminate · exclude · precision · remove · aim · turnover · pinpoint · ostracize
- baserunningsteal, stolen base, stealing, leadoff, slide
picked offsurvived
Remained alive through hardship
missed · escaped · got away · evaded · took cover
picked offleft alone
Not interfered with
passed over · skipped · ignored · overlooked · spared