pic and pick are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. pic means “a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement”. pick means “select carefully from a group”. pick is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈpɪk/
1.n.a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement
“they went to a movie every Saturday night”
2.n.a representation of a person or scene in the form of a print or transparent slide or in digital format
/ˈpɪk/
| pic | pick | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɪk/ | /ˈpɪk/ |
| Said | pik | pik |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 3 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | noun | verb, noun |
| Senses | 2 | 21 |
| How common | Familiar | Core |
| Synonyms | movie, film, picture | none recorded |
1.v.select carefully from a group
“She finally picked her successor”
2.v.look for and gather
“pick mushrooms”
3.v.harass with constant criticism
“Don't always pick on your little brother”