pick at

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To pick at food is to eat only a little of it. Also, to keep touching something that should be left alone.

The eating sense signals loss of appetite or unhappiness, and somebody picking at a plate is usually worrying about something else. The touching sense covers scabs, threads and paintwork, and picking at a scab is the standard warning about making something worse. There is a third sense about criticism, since picking at somebody's work means finding small faults in it repeatedly.

Definitions of pick at

1phraseeatTo eat only small amounts without appetite.B2
“She would pick at her food and leave most of it.”
2phrasepick atTo keep touching or pulling at something.B2
“Try not to pick at the plaster.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, A Song of Ice and Fire

First appears in chapter 16 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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pick at

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To pick at food is to eat only a little of it. Also, to keep touching something that should be left alone.

Definitions of pick at

1phraseeatTo eat only small amounts without appetite.B2
“She would pick at her food and leave most of it.”
2phrasepick atTo keep touching or pulling at something.B2
“Try not to pick at the plaster.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, A Song of Ice and Fire

First appears in chapter 16 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word