picker

[ pik-er ]

noun

1. someone or something that picks. pick.
2. a special tool or machine for picking pick fruit, vegetables, etc., from their plants.
3. a machine that picks pick fibers.
4. a person who gathers fruit, flowers, etc.
5. Slang. a player of a stringed instrument, especially a banjo.
6. Metallurgy. a pointed rod for removing a pattern from a half mold.

ˈpicker

/ ˈpɪkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that picks, esp that gathers fruit, crops, etc
2. (in weaving) a person or the part of the loom that casts the shuttle

Word History and Origins

Origin of picker¹

First recorded in 1520–30; pick ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Margaret, another flower picker on a nearby farm, says workers are routinely forced to spray chemicals on flowers without being given protective gear.

From BBC

During harvest time for coffee plants in Costa Rica, nearly 60% of the pickers are migrants from neighboring countries such as Nicaragua.

From Los Angeles Times

“They will say you’re not doing your work and fire you,” a 36-year-old strawberry picker in the Santa Maria Valley said in Spanish.

From Los Angeles Times

If 2020 was the face mask election, this one is turning out to be the Bounty election — you know…the “quicker picker upper” paper towels we need to clean up Trump’s unhinged meltdowns.

From Salon

“A straw,” he called out, snapping up the tiny yellow plastic piece with his trash picker.

From Los Angeles Times