pick on

verb

To bully, harass, or make fun of a victim; to bother or harass.

“Hey! Quit picking on your brother.”

Similar
pesterpick at
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Meanings

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

present singular third person picks on · participle present picking on · participle past picked on · past picked on

  1. transitiveTo bully, harass, or make fun of a victim; to bother or harass.

    Hey! Quit picking on your brother.

    2 more examples

    Had no friends, picked on 'cause I was weak

    1998, “Reclaim my Place”, in Follow the Leader, performed by Korn

    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.

    2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 22:11 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022
  2. transitiveTo select (a person) for a task, etc.

    The teacher picked on me to answer the question.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
pesterpick at

Translations

French embêter
  • embêterbully, bother, or harass
German herumhacken auf, schikanieren
  • herumhacken aufbully, bother, or harass
  • schikanierenbully, bother, or harass
  • mobbenbully, bother, or harass
  • hänselnbully, bother, or harass
Hungarian pikkel
  • pikkelbully, bother, or harass
Irish pioc ar
  • pioc arbully, bother, or harass
Italian aversela
  • averselabully, bother, or harass
Japanese いじめる
  • いじめる (ijimeru)bully, bother, or harass
Polish czepiać się
  • czepiać siębully, bother, or harass
Portuguese implicar, meter-se
  • implicarbully, bother, or harass
  • meter-sebully, bother, or harass
Romanian hărțui
  • hărțuibully, bother, or harass
Spanish hostigar, meterse con
  • hostigarbully, bother, or harass
  • meterse conbully, bother, or harass
  • hacer rabiarbully, bother, or harass
  • tomárselas conbully, bother, or harass
  • agarrársela[s] con (Americanism)bully, bother, or harass
  • lornearbully, bother, or harass
Turkish sataşmak, bulaşmak
  • sataşmakbully, bother, or harass
  • bulaşmakbully, bother, or harass
  • zorbalamakbully, bother, or harass
Cite this entry
APA

pick on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20on

MLA

“pick on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20on. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pick on,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20on.

Source: pick on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.