CHOOSE (chose, chosen)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: chose    , chosen   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does choose mean? 

• CHOOSE (verb)
  The verb CHOOSE has 3 senses:

1. pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives

2. select as an alternative over another

3. see fit or proper to act in a certain way; decide to act in a certain way

  Familiarity information: CHOOSE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHOOSE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they choose    ... he / she / it chooses   
Past simple: chose   
Past participle: chosen   
-ing form: choosing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

choose; pick out; select; take

Context example:

She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her

Hypernyms (to "choose" is one way to...):

decide; determine; make up one's mind (reach, make, or come to a decision about something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "choose"):

anoint (choose by or as if by divine intervention)

vote (express one's preference for a candidate or for a measure or resolution; cast a vote)

nominate; propose (put forward; nominate for appointment to an office or for an honor or position)

elect (select by a vote for an office or membership)

vote in (elect in a voting process)

screen; screen out; sieve; sort (examine in order to test suitability)

adopt; espouse; follow (choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans)

define; determine; fix; limit; set; specify (decide upon or fix definitely)

think of (choose in one's mind)

single out (select from a group)

assign; set apart; specify (select something or someone for a specific purpose)

pick over; sieve out (separate or remove)

cream off; skim off (pick the best)

cull out; winnow (select desirable parts from a group or list)

excerpt; extract; take out (take out of a literary work in order to cite or copy)

elect (choose)

pick (select carefully from a group)

go; plump (give support (to) or make a choice (of) one out of a group or number)

dial (choose by means of a dial)

draw (select or take in from a given group or region)

sieve; sift (distinguish and separate out)

field (select (a team or individual player) for a game)

empanel; impanel; panel (select from a list)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They choose him to write the letter

Sense 2

Meaning:

Select as an alternative over another

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

choose; opt; prefer

Context example:

She opted for the job on the East coast

"Choose" entails doing...:

compare (examine and note the similarities or differences of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "choose"):

cop out; opt out (choose not to do something, as out of fear of failing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They choose him to write the letter

Sense 3

Meaning:

See fit or proper to act in a certain way; decide to act in a certain way

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

She chose not to attend classes and now she failed the exam

Hypernyms (to "choose" is one way to...):

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

 Context examples 

I offered to lie down that he might the more conveniently reach my ear, but he chose rather to let me hold him in my hand during our conversation.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

And now, when I speak, you check the thought unuttered on your lips and hang on my lips and pay respectful attention to whatever I choose to say.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

You might choose to go to a sophisticated city like Paris, or an exotic island like St. Barts, as two examples.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I chose the place where the three fir-trees stand, and behind their screen I got over without the least chance of any one in the house being able to see me.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Yes, she chose the one chair in the room.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was to choose out the youngest and the best of the king’s three daughters.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

So she chose a number of the Winkies who looked as if they knew the most, and they all started away.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"The trick is we choose the right chemicals to turn on these genes we transfer into the egg," Mu-ming Poo told the press.

(Healthy cloned monkeys born in Shanghai, Wikinews)

The MOF we chose is made of a zirconium based metal node and we've done a lot of studies that show zirconium is quite inert and it doesn't cause any toxicity issues.

(Nanoparticles used to transport anti-cancer agent to cells, University of Cambridge)

Headey believes that if increasing taxes on unhealthy food products is not having the desired effects, something must be done to discourage consumers from choosing unhealthy food products and producers from producing them.

(High cost of healthy food to blame for malnutrition, SciDev.Net)