pick off

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pick off (third-person singular simple present picks off, present participle picking off, simple past and past participle picked off)

1. (literally) To remove by picking.

   Before you recycle the bottle you need to pick off the label.

2. To dispose of tasks, obstacles, opponents etc. precisely, one by one.

   Let's pick off these issues starting from the top.

   England's batsmen were nothing more than sitting ducks waiting to be picked off by these unerringly accurate marksmen.

   • 1988 August 20, John O'Brien, “Defending The Baths Is Defending Our Sexual Freedom”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 6, page 6:

     History has shown that our enemies will not leave any of us alone, in the closet or not. We must all stand together or they will pick us off one by one.

   • 2020 August 4, Richard Conniff, “They may look goofy, but ostriches are nobody’s fool”, in National Geographic Magazine‎:

     Having more chicks together after hatching also makes it less likely her chicks will be the ones picked off by a predator.

   1. To shoot one by one.

      The sniper picked off the incoming police one at a time.

3. (baseball) To throw out a runner by tagging them whilst they are not in contact with any of the three bases or home plate.

   The pitcher attempted to pick off the runner at first, but he was safe.

4. To intercept, such as a ball in flight.
   • 2011 October 1, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport‎:

     But the World Cup winning veteran's left boot was awry again, the attempt sliced horribly wide of the left upright, and the saltires were waving aloft again a moment later when a long pass in the England midfield was picked off to almost offer up a breakaway try.

pick off (plural pick offs)

1. (baseball) An instance of throwing out a batter leading off base.

   The final out of the game was determined by a pick off.