"pick at" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "picks at",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picking at",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picked at",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picked at",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "pick at (third-person singular simple present picks at, present participle picking at, simple past and past participle picked at)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "49 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (at)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1919, Henry B. Fuller, chapter 4, in Bertram Cope's Year",
          "text": "He began to pick at the fussy fringe on the arm of his chair.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 February 28, Laura M. Holson, “Putting a Bolder Face on Google”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-08-03",
          "text": "Picking at a salad in a conference room at Google’s headquarters here, Ms. Mayer says she is vexed by how some perceive her.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively or gingerly, using a utensil or one's fingers."
      ],
      "id": "en-pick_at-en-verb-vMxq6kSk",
      "links": [
        [
          "touch",
          "touch"
        ],
        [
          "grab",
          "grab"
        ],
        [
          "handle",
          "handle"
        ],
        [
          "pull",
          "pull"
        ],
        [
          "tentative",
          "tentative"
        ],
        [
          "gingerly",
          "gingerly"
        ],
        [
          "utensil",
          "utensil"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively or gingerly, using a utensil or one's fingers."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "93 7",
          "sense": "touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively",
          "word": "fiddle with"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "93 7",
          "sense": "touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively",
          "word": "toy with"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "49 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (at)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1872, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 9, in Work: A Story of Experience",
          "text": "\"[N]oise and disrespect of no kind ain't pleasin' to him. His own folks behave becomin', but strangers go and act as they like. . . . Then we are picked at for their doin's.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1904, Margaret Sidney, chapter 15, in Five Little Peppers and their Friends",
          "text": "\"And I know she's my aunt, but she needn't pick at me all the time,\" she added defiantly.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011 October 14, Richard Barber, “Carol McGiffin: I've got a problem in the bedroom... Insomnia!”, in Daily Mail, UK, retrieved 2015-08-03",
          "text": "I get crabby and pick at him about stupid things that wouldn’t normally bother me.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pick on or repeatedly criticize (someone)."
      ],
      "id": "en-pick_at-en-verb--ZZEOkX4",
      "links": [
        [
          "pick on",
          "pick on"
        ],
        [
          "criticize",
          "criticize"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To pick on or repeatedly criticize (someone)."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "sense": "pick on",
          "word": "badger"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "sense": "pick on",
          "word": "bully"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "sense": "pick on",
          "word": "find fault with"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "sense": "pick on",
          "word": "harass"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "sense": "pick on",
          "word": "pester"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-pick at.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c8/En-au-pick_at.ogg/En-au-pick_at.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/En-au-pick_at.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pick at"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs with particle (at)",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "picks at",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picking at",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picked at",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picked at",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "pick at (third-person singular simple present picks at, present participle picking at, simple past and past participle picked at)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1919, Henry B. Fuller, chapter 4, in Bertram Cope's Year",
          "text": "He began to pick at the fussy fringe on the arm of his chair.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 February 28, Laura M. Holson, “Putting a Bolder Face on Google”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-08-03",
          "text": "Picking at a salad in a conference room at Google’s headquarters here, Ms. Mayer says she is vexed by how some perceive her.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively or gingerly, using a utensil or one's fingers."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "touch",
          "touch"
        ],
        [
          "grab",
          "grab"
        ],
        [
          "handle",
          "handle"
        ],
        [
          "pull",
          "pull"
        ],
        [
          "tentative",
          "tentative"
        ],
        [
          "gingerly",
          "gingerly"
        ],
        [
          "utensil",
          "utensil"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively or gingerly, using a utensil or one's fingers."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1872, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 9, in Work: A Story of Experience",
          "text": "\"[N]oise and disrespect of no kind ain't pleasin' to him. His own folks behave becomin', but strangers go and act as they like. . . . Then we are picked at for their doin's.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1904, Margaret Sidney, chapter 15, in Five Little Peppers and their Friends",
          "text": "\"And I know she's my aunt, but she needn't pick at me all the time,\" she added defiantly.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011 October 14, Richard Barber, “Carol McGiffin: I've got a problem in the bedroom... Insomnia!”, in Daily Mail, UK, retrieved 2015-08-03",
          "text": "I get crabby and pick at him about stupid things that wouldn’t normally bother me.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pick on or repeatedly criticize (someone)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "pick on",
          "pick on"
        ],
        [
          "criticize",
          "criticize"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To pick on or repeatedly criticize (someone)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-pick at.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c8/En-au-pick_at.ogg/En-au-pick_at.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/En-au-pick_at.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively",
      "word": "fiddle with"
    },
    {
      "sense": "touch, grab, handle, or pull tentatively",
      "word": "toy with"
    },
    {
      "sense": "pick on",
      "word": "badger"
    },
    {
      "sense": "pick on",
      "word": "bully"
    },
    {
      "sense": "pick on",
      "word": "find fault with"
    },
    {
      "sense": "pick on",
      "word": "harass"
    },
    {
      "sense": "pick on",
      "word": "pester"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pick at"
}