Pic or pick?
pic is a noun meaning “A picture, especially a photographic image”; pick is a noun meaning “A tool used for digging; a pickaxe”. They sound the same (/pɪk/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) pick is about 7.6 times as common as pic.
What is the difference between pic and pick?
| pic | pick | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun, verb |
| Meaning | informalA picture, especially a photographic image informalA movie A Turkish cloth measure, varying from 18 to 28 inches | A tool used for digging; a pickaxe A pointed hammer used for dressing millstones To grasp and pull with the fingers or fingernails |
| Example | none recorded | Don't pick at that scab |
| Forms | pics, pix pics | picks |
| Pronunciation | /pɪk/ | /pɪk/ [pʰɪk] |
| In writing | 16 times per million words | 120 times per million words |
Sources: pic and pick in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of pic and pick
pic
- 1
informalA picture, especially a photographic image
- 2
A Turkish cloth measure, varying from 18 to 28 inches
- 3
Initialism of pilot in command
- 4
informalA movie
- 5
Initialism of peripheral interface controller
- 6
Initialism of plastic-insulated conductor
- 7
Initialism of programmable intelligent computer
- 8
Initialism of programmable interface controller
pick
- 1
A tool used for digging; a pickaxe
- 2
To grasp and pull with the fingers or fingernails
Don't pick at that scab
- 3
slangAn anchor
- 4
To harvest a fruit or vegetable for consumption by removing it from the plant to which it is attached; to harvest an entire plant by removing it from the ground
It's time to pick the tomatoes
- 5
A pointed hammer used for dressing millstones
- 6
To pull apart or away, especially with the fingers; to pluck
She picked flowers in the meadow
- 7
A tool for unlocking a lock without the original key; a lock pick, picklock
- 8
To take up; especially, to gather from here and there; to collect; to bring together
to pick rags
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, pic or pick?
pic appears 16 times per million words; pick 120 times per million words.
pic 16 times per million wordspick 120 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).