idiom · informal
pick someone's brain
/pɪk ˌsʌmwʌnz ˈbreɪn/pick·SOME·one's·BRAIN
speaking
to ask someone questions in order to get information or advice from them
Examples
“Can I pick your brain about university applications?”
“She picked the professor's brain for tips on thesis writing.”
“Before the interview I picked my mentor's brain for likely questions.”
Band 8 sentence
“Before launching the project I picked several senior colleagues' brains to avoid obvious mistakes.”
Collocations
- pick someone's brain about
- pick someone's brains for ideas/tips
Word family
pick someone's brain idiompick someone's brains idiom
Common mistakes
pick someone brain→pick someone's brain
can I pick your mind→can I pick your brain
Say it for a higher band
5ask for advice→6consult someone→7+pick someone's brain
Synonyms
ask for advice
Easily confused
pick someone's brains
“I picked his brains about improving my CV.”
Related words
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