- Home
- Idioms
- pick up
pick up
pick someone up
1. to attempt to become acquainted with someone for romantic or sexual purposes. Who are you any way? Are you trying to pick me up? No, I never picked up anybody in my life!
2. [for the police] to find and bring someone to the police station for questioning or arrest. The cop tried to pick her up, but she heard him coming and got away. Sergeant Jones, go pick up Sally Franklin and bring her in to be questioned about the jewel robbery.
3. to stop one's car, bus, etc., and offer someone a ride. Don't ever pick a stranger up when you're out driving! I picked up a hitchhiker today, and we had a nice chat.
4. to go to a place in a car, bus, etc., and take on a person as a passenger. Please come to my office and pick me up at noon. I have to pick up Billy at school.
pick something up
1. Lit. to lift up or raise something from a lower place. Please help me pick this stuff up off the pavement. Pick up every bit of it!
2. Fig. to tidy up or clean up a room or some other place. Let's pick this room up in a hurry. I want you to pick up the entire house.
3. Fig. to find, purchase, or acquire something. Where did you pick that up? I picked up this tool at the hardware store.
4. Fig. to learn something. I pick languages up easily. I picked up a lot of knowledge about music from my brother.
5. Fig. to cause something to go faster, especially music. All right, let's pick up the tempo and get it moving faster. Okay, get moving. Pick it up!
6. Fig. to resume something. Pick it up right where you stopped. I'll have to pick up my work where I left off.
7. Fig. to receive radio signals; to bring something into view. I can just pick it up with a powerful telescope. I can hardly pick up a signal.
8. Fig. to find a trail or route. The dogs finally picked the scent up. You should pick up highway 80 in a few miles.
pick up
2. to get busy; to go faster. Things usually pick up around here about 8:00. I hope business picks up a little later. It's boring here.
pick up
1. to increase in speed or amount The wind really picked up this morning. Economic growth is expected to pick up next year.
2. to improve The team usually plays poorly in the first half, then picks up later in the game.
pick somebody up
also pick up somebody1. to get someone and bring them somewhere I'll pick you up at the airport. I'm just waiting to pick up the kids.
2. to get someone to play for your team They made trades with several teams, and picked up Davis from the Reds.
3. to meet someone you did not know and begin an informal and often sexual relationship with them Is that the girl who picked him up at a bar last week? I was almost picked up by a 16-year-old last summer.
4. to put someone under the control of the police Police picked up 12 suspects in early-morning raids. The police pick them up, but the judges just let them go.
pick you up
to make you happy This is the kind of music that just picks you up. Seeing her always picked me up.
pick up (something)
to answer the telephone Her answering machine came on, and I yelled, a€?Pick up, Marie! Pick up the phone!a€?
pick up something
to earn points or a victory McDowell picked up his first win in almost a year last night. Armstrong increased his lead in the race, picking up another 94 points.
pick up something
also pick something up1. to get something Gwen picked up a cold on her trip. We need some milk, so I'll pick some up on the way home.
2. to pay for something Bob was going to pay for dinner, but I said no, I'll pick it up. He was hoping that his insurance would pick up most of those bills.
3. to learn something I was born up north, but I moved at such a young age that I picked up the southern ways real quick. She lived in Paris and picked the language up easily, soon speaking it like a native.
4. to notice something You'd have to know him extremely well to pick up details like that. We gave him a hint, but he failed to pick it up.
5. to continue something The TV series is over for this year, but the station plans to pick it up again next season. The network picked up Rogers's show in 1970.
6. to receive sounds, pictures, or other information carried by energy waves The microphone picked up much more noise than we expected. I could hear a voice, but my cell phone couldn't pick it up well enough for me to know who it was.
7. to print or broadcast information that has been printed or broadcast somewhere else The story first appeared in a Baltimore weekly, but was soon picked up by most of the nation's newspapers.
pick up
1. Lift, take up by hand, as in Please pick up that book from the floor. [Early 1300s]
2. Collect or gather, as in First they had to pick up the pieces of broken glass.
3. Tidy, put in order, as in Let's pick up the bedroom, or I'm always picking up after Pat. [Mid-1800s]
4. Take on passengers or freight, as in The bus picks up commuters at three stops.
5. Acquire casually, get without great effort or by accident. For example, I picked up a nice coat at the sale, or She had no trouble picking up French. This usage is even extended to contracting diseases, as in I think I picked up the baby's cold. [Early 1500s]
6. Claim, as in He picked up his laundry every Friday.
7. Buy, as in Please pick up some wine at the store on your way home.
8. pick up the bill or check or tab . Accept a charge in order to pay it, as in They always wait for us to pick up the tab. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]
9. Increase speed or rate, as in The plane picked up speed, or The conductor told the strings to pick up the tempo.
10. Gain, as in They picked up five yards on that pass play.
11. Take into custody, apprehend, as in The police picked him up for burglary. [Colloquial; second half of 1800s]
12. Make a casual acquaintance with, especially in anticipation of sexual relations, as in A stranger tried to pick her up at the bus station. [Slang; late 1800s]
13. Come upon, find, detect, as in The dog picked up the scent, or They picked up two submarines on sonar, or I can't pick up that station on the car radio.
14. Resume, as in Let's pick up the conversation after lunch.
15. Improve or cause to improve in condition or activity, as in Sales picked up last fall, or He picked up quickly after he got home from the hospital, or A cup of coffee will pick you up. [1700s]
16. Gather one's belongings, as in She just picked up and left him.
17. pick oneself up. Recover from a fall or other mishap, as in Jim picked himself up and stood there waiting. [Mid-1800s] Also see the subsequent entries beginning with pick up.
pick up
v.1. To lift something or someone up, especially with the hands: He bent over and picked the child up. She hasn't picked up the violin in years. I picked up the phone and answered it. After the tackle, I picked myself up off the ground and walked to the scrimmage line.
2. To collect someone; call for someone: He left to pick up the children from school. I'll stop by your house at 8:00 and pick you up for the movie.
3. To collect or gather something: We picked up all the trash after the barbecue. Please pick your toys up so I can vacuum.
4. To tidy up some thing or place: You can't go outside until you pick up your room. I'm tired of picking up after you.
5. To take on passengers or freight, as of a vehicle: The bus picks up commuters at five stops. The truck will pick its cargo up in Miami.
6. To purchase something casually or by chance: Let's pick up a couple of magazines for the train ride. I picked this coat up at the sale.
7. To acquire knowledge or habits through practice or experience: My parents were afraid that I would pick up bad habits at summer camp. She never studied French in school—she just picked it up when she was working in Paris.
8. To claim something: She picked up her car at the repair shop. He dropped off his clothes at the dry cleaners and picked them up the following day.
9. To improve in condition or activity: Sales picked up last fall.
10. To acquire speed: The wind is starting to pick up. The bike picks up speed on the hill.
11. To cause some speed or rate to increase: The runners picked up the pace. Improvements to efficiency have picked the rate of production up.
12. To contract something, as a disease: I picked up a rare disease while I was traveling in Asia. The children must have picked the virus up at school.
13. To earn, gain, or garner something: Qualified specialists can pick up over $100 an hour.
14. To take someone into custody; arrest someone: The agents picked up two of the smugglers at the border. The police picked me up for questioning.
15. Vulgar Slang To make casual acquaintance with someone, usually in anticipation of sexual relations.
16. To detect something: The crew picked up two submarines on sonar. The signal is so weak that only a special antenna can pick it up. The dogs picked up the scent of the ducks.
17. pick up on To notice something: I picked up on my roommate's bad mood and left him alone.
18. To continue with something after a break: Let's pick up the discussion after lunch. She opened the book and picked the story up where she left off. The sequel picks up ten years after the death of the character in the last book.
19. To prepare a sudden departure: She just picked up and left without telling anyone.