1 (choose) (gen) escoger; elegir; [+team, candidate] seleccionar pick a card, any card escoge or elige una carta, cualquiera
you picked a perfect day for it /he was picked to handle the case/ because of his wide experience of serious crime if we pick your letter you receive a free gift I had deliberately picked a city with a tropical climate next time let's pick somebody who can fight have you picked a dress for the wedding? pick a number which you will easily remember without writing it down have you picked a name yet? they haven't picked the team for the New Zealand tour yet Mr Nowell had picked ten people to interview for six sales jobs in London they will meet next week to pick a candidate for the November election
to pick a fight (with sb) buscar pelea or pleito (con algn); (argue) discutir (con algn) he picked a fight with a waiter and landed in jail a big, muscular man, a guy only an idiot would want to pick a fight with I wasn't trying to pick a fight with you do you want to pick a fight? you may pick a fight with your spouse, nag the kids and be generally unpleasant to all around you President Bush today denied that the US wants to pick a fight with Iraq
to pick one's way through/across sth abrirse camino cuidadosamente a través de algo he began to pick his way through the rubble I picked my way through the crowd of reporters they had to pick their way across a minefield I picked my way across the terrace over smashed roof tiles and plaster shoppers picked their way carefully along the icy sidewalks it involved picking our way through files going back 25 years the climbers picked their way along the narrow mountain ledge he began to pick his way over the tumbled rocks he picked his way through the darkness after getting his key at the reception desk, /he had to pick his way through the luggage to reach the lift/ the room was littered with toys - he had to pick his way through she had to hop across ditches and pick her way between large pipes and rolls of wire the path then picks its way over grassy banks below the cliffs she picked her way [among] the puddles
to pick a winner escoger or elegir un ganador; escoger bien I think she picked a winner with her new boyfriend creo que con su nuevo novio escogió bien
/she helped him pick the winners in a raffle/ for children with leukaemia he said he had a system for picking the winner in the Derby I am hopeless at picking winners
2 (gather) [+flowers, fruit, tea, cotton] coger; recoger; (LAm) to go strawberry picking ir a coger fresas
how nice of the children to pick her some flowers we picked wild flowers for my wedding bouquet I got a job picking grapes she picked some blackberries for her mother he helps his mother pick fruit I liked helping to pick mushrooms in the wet fields a painting of two girls picking cherries off a tree
3 (lift, remove) to pick sth [from] sth he picked the volume from the shelf she picked two apples from the basket he picked the napkin from his lap and placed it alongside his plate
to pick sth off the ground recoger algo del suelo let me pick that bit of fluff off your collar deja que te quite esa pelusa del cuello
he picked his blazer off a chair The dog was contentedly picking the meat off a large marrow bone
to pick o.s. off the floor or ground levantarse del suelo as I picked myself off the ground I saw him disappear round the corner she picked herself off the floor to pick sth [out] of sth
to pick names out of a hat sacar nombres de un sombrero he picked the cobwebs out of her hair I picked a book out of the bookcase I pick all the stray bits of meat out of the grinder
4 (make) [+hole] hacer you've picked a hole in your jersey to pick [holes] in sth you can pick holes in most of his arguments he's constantly picking holes in her reasoning he picked holes in the team's performance against Poland
5 [+scab, spot] toquetear; [+lock] forzar or abrir con ganzúa; [+guitar, banjo] puntear she started picking a spot on her chin Henry was picking the scab on his elbow Ben had no trouble picking the lock he picked each lock deftly, and rifled the papers within each drawer I learned to pick a five-string banjo at the age of 7 or 8
to pick sb's brains exprimir el coco a algn (informal) I'd like to pick your brains about something I've come to pick your brains "So what's up?" said Vaughn. "You said you wanted to pick my brains"
their bones had been picked clean by the birds los pájaros habían dejado limpios los huesos
to pick one's nose hurgarse la nariz Edgar, don't pick your nose, dear
to pick sb's pocket robar algo a algn del bolsillo areas where little urchins lived out of garbage pails, dealt in stolen goods, and picked pockets
to pick one's teeth mondarse or escarbarse los dientes he had just had a meal and was picking his teeth after it he took a long knife from his boot and started to pick his teeth with it
