pick off

• Verbe à particule signifiant tirer sur ou cibler quelqu'un ou quelque chose un par un, ou enlever/détacher quelque chose d'un groupe.

A phrasal verb meaning to shoot or target someone or something one by one, or to remove or separate something from a group.

indénombrable · transitif · phrasal, séparable

1. Remove one by oneinformal

   To remove or take something from a group or surface, often with care or precision.

   retirer un à un

   • She picked off the dead leaves from the plant.
   • He carefully picked off the stickers from the laptop.
   • The chef picked off the tiny bones from the fish fillet.

   Synonymesculldetachpluckremovetake

2. Target and eliminateinformal

   To shoot or attack someone or something individually, especially from a distance.

   abattre un à un

   • The sniper picked off the enemy soldiers one by one.
   • In the game, he picked off the opponents with precise shots.
   • The hunter picked off the birds from the tree.

   Synonymeseliminategun downhitkillshoot downsnipetake outtarget

3. Select and criticizeinformal

   To single out someone or something for criticism or attack.

   prendre pour cible

   • The critic picked off every flaw in the movie.
   • During the debate, he picked off his opponent's arguments.
   • She picked off the weakest points in the proposal.

   Synonymesattackcriticizesingle outtarget

Verbe de basepick