choose

To decide which person or thing you want from two or more possibilities.

• Choose a seat.
• I chose the blue shirt yesterday.
• Have you chosen what to eat?

How to use it: choose between A and B (You can choose between soup and salad.); choose something from something (Choose a book from this shelf.); choose to do something (She chose to walk home.)

Similar words: pick, select

Common phrases: choose something, choose between options, choose to stay, choose a book

To select someone for a position, often by voting.

• The club chose a new president.
• They chose her as their representative.
• Who will be chosen to lead the committee?

How to use it: choose someone as something (The members chose her as their chair.); choose someone to do something (We chose him to lead the group.)

Similar words: elect, select

Common phrases: choose a leader, choose someone as, choose a president

Used between numbers to state how many groups of the second size can be selected from the first.

• Five choose two equals ten.
• We calculated six choose three to count the possible teams.
• The formula uses n choose k for the number of combinations.

Common phrases: n choose k, five choose two