cherry-pick

verb

cher·​ry-pick ˈcher-ē-ˌpik 

cherry-picked; cherry-picking; cherry-picks

intransitive verb

: to select the best or most desirable

transitive verb

: to select as being the best or most desirable

also : to select the best or most desirable from

cherry-picked the art collection

Synonyms

• choose
• cull
• elect
• handpick
• name
• opt (for)
• pick
• prefer
• select
• single (out)
• tag
• take

Examples of cherry-pick in a Sentence

cherry-picked the spacious corner office for his corporate fief

Recent Examples on the Web

Driving the news: The report alleged that Amazon cherry-picks data to obscure disproportionately dangerous facilities compared to other industry warehouses. —Avery Lotz, Axios, 16 Dec. 2024

To be sure, Waymo is cherry-picking cities with favorable conditions for autonomous vehicles. —IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2024

There are also specific savings on planned sailings, so peruse their site to cherry-pick the best deal and remember to read all the fine print. —Dan Koday, Travel + Leisure, 3 Dec. 2024

Presidents sometimes bolster their claims of a mandate by cherry-picking polling results. —Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense