Picking

How to spell picking

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce picking

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does picking mean?

1. verbThe act of gathering, plucking, or selecting items one by one.

Picking in a sentence

• She spent the morning picking ripe strawberries in the field.

• Picking the right candidate for the job took the panel several days.

Where does picking come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The base verb 'pick' descends from Old English 'pician', meaning to prick or pierce, and it sits among a cluster of related Germanic and Scandinavian words for poking and plucking, including Old Norse influences that reinforced the form in Middle English. The early sense of jabbing with a pointed tool broadened over time into the familiar modern ideas of plucking fruit, choosing one item from many, and removing small things by hand. The form 'picking' is simply the verb with the present participle and gerund ending '-ing', which has been the standard way to make such forms since Old English. The doubled 'ck' before '-ing' is the spelling trap worth noting: because the stem ends in 'ck' rather than a single 'k', writers occasionally hesitate over how to attach the suffix. There is no silent letter or vowel surprise here, just the steady 'ck' that the everyday word 'pick' already carries.

How the word is built

• pick (to select or gather)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)