pick up meaning and examples thumbnail

pick up meaning and examples

2025-09-21

Meaning

The phrasal verb pick up has several meanings depending on the context:

  1. To lift or collect something from a surface or place.
  2. To collect someone (e.g., by car).
  3. To buy or obtain something.
  4. To learn something informally, without structured study.
  5. To improve or recover (e.g., business, health, weather).
  6. To detect or receive (e.g., a signal, sound, or language).

Grammar and Usage

  • pick up + noun

    • She picked up the phone.

  • pick sb up (transitive)

    • I’ll pick you up at 7 p.m.

  • pick up on + noun (variation) = notice or become aware of something.

    • He picked up on her nervousness.

  • pick yourself up = recover after a fall or difficulty.

Part of speech: phrasal verb Verb type: transitive (takes an object), sometimes intransitive in idiomatic uses.

Common Phrases

  • pick up the phone
  • pick up speed
  • pick up the tab (pay the bill)
  • pick up the pieces (recover after a failure)
  • pick up steam (gain momentum)

Collocations

  • pick up a language
  • pick up a signal
  • pick up groceries
  • pick up a habit
  • pick up passengers

Examples

  1. Can you pick up some bread on your way home?
  2. He came to the station to pick me up.
  3. She quickly picked up Spanish while living in Mexico.
  4. Sales usually pick up around the holiday season.
  5. My phone can’t pick up the Wi-Fi signal here.
  6. He picked up the phone and called his boss.
  7. After the fall, she managed to pick herself up and keep running.
  8. The train began to pick up speed as it left the city.
  9. Don’t worry, I’ll pick up the tab tonight.
  10. It took him years to pick up the pieces after the accident.
  • collect
  • fetch
  • lift
  • acquire
  • improve
  • recover
  • learn

Antonym

  • drop off (opposite when talking about collecting/delivering people or things)
  • put down (opposite of lifting something)
  • deteriorate / decline (opposite of improve or recover)