pick at
verb
Simple meaning
Pluck or pull at with the fingers.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pikatSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɪˈkæt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Pluck or pull at with the fingers
“She picked nervously at the buttons of her blouse.”
transitiveidiomatic
To touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively or gingerly, using a utensil or one's fingers.
transitiveof food
Synonym of peck at.
transitiveidiomatic
To pick on or repeatedly criticize (someone).
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Pluck or pull at with the fingers
Used this way, pick at is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.