choose

Definitions

1. 1.To wish; to desire; to prefer. [Colloq.] The landlady now returned to know if we did not choose a more genteel apartment. Goldsmith. To choose sides. See under Side. Syn. - To select; prefer; elect; adopt; follow. -- To Choose, Prefer, Elect. To choose is the generic term, and denotes to take or fix upon by an act of the will, especially in accordance with a decision of the judgment. To prefer is to choose or favor one thing as compared with, and more desirable than, another, or more in accordance with one's tastes and feelings. To elect is to choose or select for some office, employment, use, privilege, etc., especially by the concurrent vote or voice of a sufficient number of electors. To choose a profession; to prefer private life to a public one; to elect members of Congress.
2. 2.To make a selection; to decide. They had only to choose between implicit obedience and open rebellion. Prescott.
3. 3.To do otherwise. "Can I choose but smile" Pope. Can not choose but, must necessarily. Thou canst not choose but know who I am. Shak.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "choose" mean?
• What is another word for "choose"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is choose.

• What is to make a selection; to decide. They had only to choose between implicit obedience and open rebellion. Prescott called?
• What is to do otherwise. "Can I choose but smile" Pope. Can not choose but, must necessarily. Thou canst not choose but know who I am. Shak called?