/ tʃuːz; NAmE / verb ( chose / tʃəʊz; NAmE tʃoʊz/, chosen / ˈtʃəʊzn; NAmE ˈtʃoʊzn/)
1.
choose (between A and / or B) | choose (A) (from B) | choose sb/sth as sth to decide which thing or person you want out of the ones that are available :
[ v ]
You choose, I can't decide.
There are plenty of restaurants to choose from.
She had to choose between giving up her job or hiring a nanny.
[ vn ]
Sarah chose her words carefully.
We have to choose a new manager from a shortlist of five candidates.
This site has been chosen for the new school.
He chose banking as a career.
We chose Paul Stubbs as / for chairperson.
[ v wh- ]
You'll have to choose whether to buy it or not.
[ v to inf ]
We chose to go by train.
[ vn to inf ]
We chose Paul Stubbs to be chairperson.
2.
to prefer or decide to do sth :
[ v ]
Employees can retire at 60 if they choose.
[ v to inf ]
Many people choose not to marry.
—see also choice noun
•
IDIOMS
- there is nothing / not much / little to choose between A and B
—more at pick verb
••
SYNONYMS
choose
select ♦ pick ♦ opt ♦ go for ♦ single out
These words all mean to decide which thing or person you want out of the ones that are available.
choose
to decide which thing or person you want out of the ones that are available:
You choose—I can't decide.
select
[often passive] to choose sb/sth, usually carefully, from a group of people or things:
He was selected for the team.
•
a randomly selected sample of 23 schools
pick
( rather informal ) to choose sb/sth from a group of people or things:
She picked the best cake for herself.
choose, select or pick?
Choose is the most general of these words and the only one that can be used without an object. When you select sth, you choose it carefully, unless you actually say that it is selected randomly / at random . Pick is a more informal word and often a less careful action, used especially when the choice being made is not very important.
opt
to choose to take or not to take a particular course of action:
After graduating she opted for a career in music.
•
After a lot of thought, I opted against buying a motorbike.
go for sth
( rather informal ) to choose sth:
I think I'll go for the fruit salad.
single sb/sth out
to choose sb/sth from a group for special attention:
She was singled out for criticism.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to choose / select / pick / single out A from B
to choose / select / pick between A and/or B
to opt / go for sb/sth
to choose / opt to do sth
to choose / select / pick your words carefully
to choose / select / pick sb/sth carefully / at random
randomly chosen / selected / picked
well chosen / selected
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English cēosan , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kiezen .