Definition of: choose

(chz) v. chose, cho·sen, choos·ing v.t.
1. To select as most desirable; take by preference; elect.
2. To desire or have a preference for.
3. To please or think proper (to do something): with infinitive as object.
—v.i.
4. To make selection or decision.
5. To have an alternate.
—cannot choose but Has no alternative choice.
—to pick and choose To select with great deliberation. [OE cēosan]
—choos′er noun Synonyms: cull, elect, pick, prefer, select. Prefer indicates a state of desire and approval; choose, an act of will. Prudence or generosity may lead one to choose what he does not prefer. Select implies a careful consideration of the reasons for preference and choice. Among objects so nearly alike that we have no reason to prefer any one to another, we may simply choose the nearest, but we could not be said to select it. Aside from theology, elect is popularly confined to the political sense; as, a free people elect their own rulers. Cull means to collect, as well as to select. In a garden we cull the choicest flowers. To pick is to choose for special fitness; as, a guard of picked men; chosen, in this sense, is somewhat archaic. Antonyms: decline, disclaim, dismiss, leave, refuse, reject.