pick out

pick out (third-person singular simple present picks out, present participle picking out, simple past and past participle picked out)

1. to remove by picking

   1859, Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities

   Madame Defarge herself picked out the pattern on her sleeve with her toothpick, and saw and heard something inaudible and invisible a long way off.

2. to select
   • November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk

     Oliver had an erratic and often bewildering afternoon and, just to pick out one incident, the images of Joe Hart putting his forehead uncomfortably close to the official are certainly far from the norm.

   2007, Letticia, Body Worship, page 192

   Very often husbands would patronise my boutique and pick out something for the little lady and, in passing, pick out something for themselves.

3. (idiomatic) to distinguish; discern

   Apr 30, 1988, Toronto Star - Bonaventure Island a birdwatcher's delight 50,000 gannets jostle and spar for a piece of the island

   The young birds cry out for food, and the parents returning from the sea manage to pick out their own amid a mass of lookalikes.

4. To ornament or relieve with lines etc. of a different, usually lighter, colour.

   a dark green carriage body picked out with red

   • 1911, Chesterton, The Innocence of Father Brown, The Sins of Prince Saradine:

     Away on the farthest cape or headland of the long islet, on a strip of turf beyond the last rank of roses, the duellists had already crossed swords. Evening above them was a dome of virgin gold, and, distant as they were, every detail was picked out.

5. (idiomatic) to detect using one's senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste)
   • 1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, OCLC 884653065; republished New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1953, →ISBN:

   And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock.

6. (idiomatic, soccer) to send a long pass or cross to.

   26 December 2006, 4TheGame - Bolton Wanderers vs Newcastle United

   Ameobi skipped away down the left in the 39th minute and tried to pick out Shearer with a cross but his delivery was cut out by goalkeeper Jussi J...