cherry-picking

verb

present participle of cherry-pick
as in selecting
to decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities cherry-picked the spacious corner office for his corporate fief

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cherry-picking Another idea being considered is offering a four-pack of tickets to encourage fans to buy tickets to all the movies at once instead of cherry-picking one or two to watch in theaters and saving the rest for streaming. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026 Families spent Mother's Day filling buckets and making memories at Dell'Osso Farms in Lathrop, where crowds gathered Sunday for cherry-picking season in the heart of California's top cherry-producing county. — Charlie Lapastora, CBS News, 11 May 2026 Cha chaan tengs grew in popularity, cherry-picking elements from all three restaurants to create a new type of cuisine. — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Apr. 2026 But most of this research is co-authored by Sikiric, who holds several patents related to BPC-157, and some experts have accused him of cherry-picking evidence. — Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026 The Justice Department has pushed back on the defense suggestion that Bondi continues to profit from Ballard’s ongoing representation of UnitedHealth Group and accused Mangione’s lawyers of creating such a misimpression by cherry-picking language from her public financial disclosure report. — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026 Vartkessian renders them neither clinically nor sensationally—a fine line to walk—and cherry-picking details for this review feels grossly reductive, like a thumbnail sketch of a scene of desolation. — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025 Following Democrats’ release, Republicans accused Democrats of cherry-picking the emails, later releasing a tranche of 20,000 pages of documents both sides received from the Epstein estate last week. — Emily Brooks, The Hill, 13 Nov. 2025 More than 85 scientists denounced the report, accusing officials of cherry-picking facts and figures to allow for the administration’s fossil fuel ambitions. — Solcyré Burga, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cherry-picking
  1. selecting
  2. choosing
  3. picking
Verb
  • Because mRNA vaccines can be developed and manufactured more quickly than traditional shots, scientists could wait until later in the year before selecting which influenza strains to target.
    — Claire Maldarelli, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026
  • This includes selecting suitable cutting tools, refining machining procedures, and incorporating robotic arms into assembly tasks.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of selecting
Verb
  • Price optimization means choosing prices that advance business goals, such as increasing profits, attracting shoppers or clearing unsold goods.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Traditionally, choosing a nozzle size involves a compromise between detail and speed.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of choosing
Verb
  • While the three were picking their way through a clump of trees at the far end of the cornfield, half a dozen does came out of the willows single file, walked under my platform within six yards of me, and started to feed.
    — Al Dawson, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The farm’s famous U-Pick strawberries are expected to be ready for picking Thursdays through Saturdays by Christmas in the adjacent property.
    — Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of picking

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Cherry-picking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cherry-picking. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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