picky

«picky» in Mova's school dictionary: hard to please and only likes certain things, especially… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (picky, pickier, pickiest) — informal

meaning for a pupil

1) (informal) A picky person is hard to please and only likes certain things, especially food. tree →

2) (informal) Picky can mean fussing about small details. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life it is often used about children and food: «a picky eater». It can sound a bit critical. UK also says «fussy», «faddy». Phrases: «picky eater», «picky about clothes».

examples

• My little brother is a picky eater. tree →
• Don't be so picky — just eat your peas. tree →
• The cat is picky about its food. tree →
• She's picky about which socks she wears. tree →
• Picky eaters often try new foods slowly. tree →
• My teacher is picky about neat handwriting. tree →
• He was too picky to choose a book. tree →
• Are you a picky eater? tree →

note

Informal. Comparative: pickier, pickiest (y → i). Synonyms: fussy (UK), choosy. Do not confuse with «pick» (choose) — though the word comes from it.

In the corpora

• That's why a picky grandad says the new millennium really began in 2001, not at the huge parties of 2000.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «picky» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.