picking
Selecting from many
Picking is the act of selecting or gathering.
You pick fruit from trees, pick items from a list, or pick a winner.
Cotton picking and cherry picking are literal harvests; cherry-picking figuratively means selecting only what supports your case.
Picking also describes plucking motions—picking a guitar, picking at food, picking a lock.
A picking is something gathered: slim pickings means little worth taking.
Plucking strings by hand
- flatpickingIndividual notes via pick
- pluckingRemoving by tugging
- stringsThin flexible lines
- banjoFretted drum-stringed instrument
bluegrass · arpeggios · fingerstyle · clawhammer · patterns · melody · acoustic · mandolin
Chosen item or items
- decisionSettled course of action
- optionAvailable course of action
- preferenceFavored choice among alternatives
- alternativesOther available options
deliberation · judgment · discernment · criteria · evaluation · shortlist · filtering · screening
Spore-bearing fruiting bodies
- berriesSmall fleshy fruits
- edible plantsConsumable botanical matter
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- nutsSeeds in shells
herbs · roots · wildcrafting · forest floor · basket · identification · seasonal · boletus
Exercising caution and attention
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
- meticulousShowing extreme attention to detail
- dexteritySkillful hand coordination
- tweezersPincerlike gripping instrument
fine · nimble · detail · exactness · surgical · painstaking · intricate · selective
fingerpicking
Plucking strings by hand
- flatpickingIndividual notes via pick
- pluckingRemoving by tugging
- stringsThin flexible lines
banjo · bluegrass · arpeggios · fingerstyle · clawhammer · patterns · melody · acoustic · mandolin · technique
selection
Chosen item or items
- decisionSettled course of action
- optionAvailable course of action
- preferenceFavored choice among alternatives
alternatives · deliberation · judgment · discernment · criteria · evaluation · shortlist · filtering · screening · prioritization
orchard
Fruit tree plantation
peach · cherry · berry · pear · plum · basket · ladder · tree · branch · nectarine
mushrooms
Spore-bearing fruiting bodies
- berriesSmall fleshy fruits
- edible plantsConsumable botanical matter
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
nuts · herbs · roots · wildcrafting · forest floor · basket · identification · seasonal · boletus · chanterelles
careful
Exercising caution and attention
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
- meticulousShowing extreme attention to detail
- dexteritySkillful hand coordination
tweezers · fine · nimble · detail · exactness · surgical · painstaking · intricate · selective · discriminating
cotton
Plant fiber for textiles
grapes · tobacco · olives · saffron · bolls · leaves · crop · fieldwork · laborers · seasonal
lockpicking
Opening locks without keys
tension wrench · rake · bypass · locksmith · security · mechanism · keyhole · deadbolt · padlock · bump key
- gatheringgathering, collecting, accumulating, amassing, compiling
- harvestingreaping, gathering, collecting, plucking, grain harvesting
- selectionchoosing, selection committee, shortlist, shortlisting, elimination
- strawberry farmstrawberries, berries, ripe fruit, harvest, rows
- Pickingplucking, grape harvesting, herb gathering
- warehousingwarehouse, warehouses, fulfillment centers, fulfillment center, distribution centers
pickingrejecting
Refusing to accept
refusing · declining · dismissing · ignoring · leaving
pickingplanting
Placing seeds in earth
sowing · seeding · cultivating · scattering · depositing
pickingplacing
Putting in position
depositing · setting down · putting · dropping · releasing
- picking upGrasping and lifting
- picking onHarassing someone repeatedly
- picking up the piecesRebuilding after setback
- picking outChoosing from options
- slim pickingsVery limited options
- apple pickingCollecting orchard fruit by hand
nitpicking, pickings, pickiest, pickier, unpicking, handpicking