choose

[chooz] /tʃuz/

verb (used with object), chose; chosen or (Obsolete) chose; choosing.

to select from a number of possibilities; pick by preference:

She chose Sunday for her departure.

to prefer or decide (to do something):

He chose to run for election.

to want; desire.

(especially in children's games) to contend with (an opponent) to decide, as by odd or even, who will do something:

I'll choose you to see who gets to bat first.

verb (used without object), chose; chosen or (Obsolete) chose; choosing.

to make a choice:

He chose carefully.

to be inclined:

You may stay here, if you choose.

(especially in children's games) to decide, as by means of odd or even, who will do something:

Let's choose to see who bats first.

Verb phrases

choose up,

to select (players) for a contest or game:
The boys chose up sides for the game.
to select players for a contest or game:
We have to choose up before we can play.

Idioms

cannot choose but, cannot do otherwise than; is or are obliged to:

He cannot choose but obey.

Origin

before 1000; Middle English chosen, chēsen, Old English cēosan; cognate with Gothic kiusan, Old High German kiosan (German kiesen); akin to Greek geúesthai to enjoy, Latin gustāre to taste (see gusto)

Related forms

choosable, adjective

chooser, noun

prechoose, verb (used with object), prechose, prechosen, prechoosing.

rechoose, verb, rechose, rechosen, rechoosing.

unchoosable, adjective

Can be confused

chews, choose.

Antonyms

1. reject.

Synonym Study

1. Choose, select, pick, elect, prefer indicate a decision that one or more possibilities are to be regarded more highly than others. Choose suggests a decision on one of a number of possibilities because of its apparent superiority: to choose a course of action. Select suggests a choice made for fitness: to select the proper golf club. Pick, an informal word, suggests a selection on personal grounds: to pick a winner. The formal word elect suggests a kind of official action: to elect a representative. Prefer, also formal, emphasizes the desire or liking for one thing more than for another or others: to prefer coffee to tea.

Examples from the web for choose

How they choose to do it is less interesting, in the end, than why they were driven to do it in the first place.
The narrator tells him they don't name their pumpkins, and tells him to choose a bigger one.
There's not much to choose from on the menu, but plenty of information.
And it is bad news that he felt pushed by the constant threat of prison at home to choose between silence and exile.
Consumers-particularly older ones-were less sophisticated and less restless, and had fewer brands to choose from.
It was probably never in doubt whom they would choose.
The only ones more successful were those who got to choose their own clothes.
When price is no object, professors might as well choose the fanciest textbook around.
They say you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your relatives.
All that was needed to choose among them was a chunk or two of the object in question.

British Dictionary definitions for choose

choose

/tʃuːz/

verb chooses, choosing, chose, chosen

to select (a person, thing, course of action, etc) from a number of alternatives

(transitive; takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to consider it desirable or proper: I don't choose to read that book

(intransitive) to like; please: you may stand if you choose

cannot choose but, to be obliged to: we cannot choose but vote for him

nothing to choose between, little to choose between, (of two people or objects) almost equal

Derived Forms

chooser, noun

Word Origin

Old English ceosan; related to Old Norse kjōsa, Old High German kiosan

Word Origin and History for choose

Old English ceosan "choose, seek out, select; decide, test, taste, try; accept, approve" (class II strong verb; past tense ceas, past participle coren), from Proto-Germanic *keus- (cf. Old Frisian kiasa, Old Saxon kiosan, Dutch kiezen, Old High German kiosan, German kiesen, Old Norse kjosa, Gothic kiusan "choose," Gothic kausjan "to taste, test"), from PIE root *geus- "to taste, relish" (see gusto). Only remotely related to choice. Variant spelling chuse is Middle English, very frequent 16c.-18c. The irregular past participle leveled out to chosen by 1200.

Idioms and Phrases with choose

choose

In addition to the idiom beginning with

choose

also see:

also see under:

choice