chose

IPA/tʃəʊz/
KK[tʃˈoz]IPA/tʃoʊz/

chose — verb

1. the form of the verb 'choose' used to describe a past action of picking somethin

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

the form of the verb 'choose' used to describe a past action of picking something or making a decision when there are several possibilities.

Example

Last Saturday, Jiwoo chose the blue sofa for the new living room after looking at ten different stores.

chose + noun phrase after deliberation

The hiring committee chose Selim as the project manager because of his experience in logistics.

chose + person + as + role

Common collocations
  • chose carefully
  • chose wisely
  • chose freely
  • chose between
  • chose among
  • chose from
Synonyms
  • selected

    slightly more formal; often implies careful consideration from a defined set

  • picked

    more informal and conversational than 'chose'

  • opted for

    followed by a noun phrase; emphasises a decision among alternatives

Antonyms
  • rejected

    the opposite act — deciding not to take something

Grammar Patterns

chose + noun phrase

chose + to-infinitive

chose + between/among + options

chose + wh-clause

Usage Note

This is the past simple form of 'choose'. The past participle is 'chosen' (e.g., 'She has chosen her path.'). The verb form 'chose' rhymes with 'nose', while the noun 'chose' (a legal term for personal property) rhymes with 'shows' — the two have different pronunciations.

Common Mistakes

I choosed the red one yesterday.
I chose the red one yesterday.
'choose' is an irregular verb; its past tense is 'chose', not 'choosed'.
She has chose to stay home.
She has chosen to stay home.
The past participle after 'have' is 'chosen', not 'chose'.

chose — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe making a choice from options in the past, but they differ in formality and emphasis. 'Chose' is the most neutral and common past-tense verb; it works in any register from casual conversation to formal writing. 'Selected' carries a tone of deliberate, careful picking from a defined set — you might see it on application forms ('the candidate selected for the position') or in official reports. 'Picked' is the most informal and conversational of the group; you would use it when chatting with friends ('she picked the green one'). 'Opted for' is followed by a noun phrase and implies choosing one alternative over others, often after weighing options ('they opted for the cheaper flight'). In everyday spoken English, 'chose' and 'picked' dominate; in legal or bureaucratic writing, 'selected' is preferred.

chose ↗selected ↗picked ↗opted for ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • chose to do something
  • chose not to do something
  • chose someone as something
  • chose someone for something

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The verb 'chose' is the past tense of 'choose', which comes from Old English 'cēosan' (to choose, seek, taste). This word traces back to Proto-Germanic '*keusan' and further to the Proto-Indo-European root '*ǵews-' meaning 'to taste, to choose'. The past tense form 'chose' developed through the strong-verb conjugation pattern common in Old English. The noun 'chose' (personal property) comes from a completely different source: Anglo-French 'chose' meaning 'thing', from Latin 'causa' (cause, case, thing). The two words share the same spelling in modern English but have unrelated origins.