pic, pick

The words pic, pick sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do pic, pick sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: pic, pick are homophones of the English language.

pic
  1. :: noun

    Slang A photograph.

  2. :: noun

    Slang A movie.

pick
  1. :: phrasal-verb

    pick on To tease or bully.

  2. :: verb-transitive

    To select from a group: The best swimmer was picked.

  3. :: verb-transitive

    To select or cull.

  4. :: verb-transitive

    To gather in; harvest: They were picking cotton.

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

Share pic, pick

About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").