pick on

English

Verb

pick on (third-person singular simple present picks on, present participle picking on, simple past and past participle picked on)

1. (transitive) To bully, harass, or make fun of a victim; to bother or harass.

   Hey! Quit picking on your brother.

   • 1998, Korn (lyrics and music), “Reclaim my Place”:

     Had no friends, picked on 'cause I was weak

   • 2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 22:11 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?‎^[1], archived from the original on 3 November 2022:

     Deciding that he hasn't had enough action for one day, Captain Evans of the Johnston orders another 180-degree about-face to give gunfire support to the new arrivals, this time picking on the heavy cruiser Tone.

2. (transitive) To select (a person) for a task, etc.

   The teacher picked on me to answer the question.

Synonyms

• pester, pick at

Derived terms

• pick on someone your own size

 

Translations

bully, bother, or harass

• French: embêter (fr)
• German: herumhacken auf (de), schikanieren (de), mobben (de), hänseln (de)
• Hungarian: pikkel (hu)
• Irish: pioc ar
• Italian: aversela
• Japanese: いじめる (ja) (ijimeru)
• Portuguese: implicar (com), meter-se (com) (Portugal)
• Romanian: hărțui (ro)
• Spanish: hostigar (es), meterse con, hacer rabiar, tomárselas con (Bolivia), agarrársela con (South America), agarrárselas (South America)