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pick up

2 syllables

verb

Quick answer

As a verb, pick up means take and lift upward.

Meanings of pick up

16 meanings

verb

Take and lift upward
Similar: lift up, gather up
Take up by hand
“He picked up the book and started to read”
Give a passenger or a hitchhiker a lift
“We picked up a hitchhiker on the highway”
Gather or collect
“You can get the results on Monday”
“She picked up the children at the day care center”
“They pick up our trash twice a week”
Similar: collect, gather up, call for
Get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
“I learned that she has two grown-up children”
“I see that you have been promoted”
Similar: learn, hear, get word, get wind, find out, get a line
Get in addition, as an increase
“The candidate picked up thousands of votes after his visit to the nursing home”
Take into custody
“the police nabbed the suspected criminals”
Similar: collar, nail, apprehend, arrest, nab, cop
Buy casually or spontaneously
“I picked up some food for a snack”
Register (perceptual input)
“pick up a signal”
Similar: receive
Lift out or reflect from a background
“The scarf picks up the color of the skirt”
“His eyes picked up his smile”
Meet someone for sexual purposes
“he always tries to pick up girls in bars”
Fill with high spirits; fill with optimism
“Music can uplift your spirits”
Similar: elate, lift up, uplift, intoxicate
Improve significantly; go from bad to good
“Her performance in school picked up”
Similar: turn around
Perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily
“I caught the aroma of coffee”
“He caught the allusion in her glance”
“ears open to catch every sound”
Similar: catch