verb
- To grasp and pull with the fingers or fingernails.
- To harvest a fruit or vegetable for consumption by removing it from the plant to which it is attached; to harvest an entire plant by removing it from the ground.
- To pull apart or away, especially with the fingers; to pluck.
- To take up; especially, to gather from here and there; to collect; to bring together.
- To remove something from somewhere with a pointed instrument, with the fingers, or with the teeth.
- To decide upon, from a set of options; to select.
- To seek (a fight or quarrel) where the opportunity arises.
- To recognise the type of ball being bowled by a bowler by studying the position of the hand and arm as the ball is released.
- To pluck the individual strings of a musical instrument or to play such an instrument.
- To open (a lock) with a wire, lock pick, etc.
- To eat slowly, sparingly, or by morsels; to nibble.
- To do anything fastidiously or carefully, or by attending to small things; to select something with care.
- To steal; to pilfer.
- To throw; to pitch.
- 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.
- To separate or open by means of a sharp point or points.
- To screen.
noun
- A gathering to pick fruit.
- (usually pluralized) Items remaining after others have selected the best; scraps, as of food.
- (usually pluralized) Income or other gains, especially if obtained in an unscrupulous or objectionable manner.
- Something picked or pulled out.
- The act of making a choice; selection.
- The final finishing of woven fabrics by removing burs, etc.
- The removal of defects from electrotype plates.
- Dabbing in stoneworking.
Synonyms: leftover
Pronunciation
About this word
Picking is a 2-meaning word in English. Medium-length words often have several interesting anagrams.
This page shows the definition of picking along with every other word you can make from its letters. Click the link above to see all anagrams and shorter words formed from the same set of letters.
How to use this page
Every word in our dictionary has its own page like this one. Here you can:
- Read the definition — see what the word means, how it is used in context, and which part of speech it belongs to.
- Hear the pronunciation — when an audio recording is available, press the play button to hear the word spoken aloud.
- Browse synonyms — see related words that share a similar meaning, useful for expanding your vocabulary.
- Find anagrams — click "Other words from picking's letters" to see every word you can spell using the same letters.
Words in word games
If you are playing a word game, knowing whether a word is valid is essential. Picking appears in our 370,000-word English dictionary, which includes most words accepted in Scrabble and Words With Friends. However, always check the official word list for the specific game you are playing, as different games use different dictionaries.
Scrabble
In Scrabble, the valid word lists are the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL/NWL) for North America and the Collins Scrabble Words (CSW) for international play. Our dictionary covers most words in both lists, but some proper nouns, abbreviations, and offensive terms may differ.
Wordle
Wordle uses its own curated word list that is smaller than the full Scrabble dictionary. If Picking appears here, it may or may not be a valid Wordle answer — but it is a real English word regardless.
Try it interactively
Open Picking in the interactive unscrambler →
More word resources
Explore our guides for more word game help:
Or see all our guides on the blog index.