picking

Plural: pickings

Noun

• The act of choosing or gathering; selected material.
• the quantity of a crop that is harvested
  • "he sent the first picking of berries to the market"
• the act of picking (crops or fruit or hops etc.)
• A gathering to pick fruit.
• Items remaining after others have selected the best; scraps, as of food.
• 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.

Verb

• select carefully from a group
• look for and gather
• harass with constant criticism
• provoke
• remove in small bits
• remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits
• pilfer or rob
• pay for something
• pull lightly but sharply with a plucking motion
• attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example
• hit lightly with a picking motion
• eat intermittently; take small bites of
• present participle and gerund of pick

Examples

• easy pickings, rich pickings
• Her careful PICKING of tiles often led to high-scoring Words With Friends plays.
• The schoolboy flicked his nose pickings across the classroom.
• We went to a strawberry picking last June.

Synonyms

beak, blame, break up, clean, cull, find fault, foot, nibble, peck, pick, piece, pluck, plunk, booty, leftovers