pick off

pick someone or something off (of) someone or something and pick someone or something off

to pull or gather someone or something off something. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) The teacher picked the little boys off the jungle gym and hurried them back into the school building before the storm hit. Pick off the ripe tomatoes and leave the rest.

See also: pick

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pick somebody/something off also pick somebody/something off

1. to kill or shoot one person or animal at a time Snipers picked the soldiers off one by one. The birds in the nest were picked off by hawks.

2. to select and attack or defeat a particular person or group During the race I just picked off the runners ahead of me one at a time. We try to identify these criminal groups and pick their leaders off before they can cause too much trouble. The Republicans picked off Democrats in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Mississippi in the last election.

See also: pick