pick up

phraseB13 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To pick up is to lift something — to collect somebody — or to learn a thing without trying. One phrase, a great many jobs.

The lifting sense is literal and splits round an object. The collecting sense is what every parent does at half past three. The learning sense is the loveliest, since children pick up a language simply by being surrounded by it. There are more: business picks up when it improves, a radio picks up a signal, and picking somebody up can mean arresting them or flirting with them.

Definitions of pick up

1phrasepick upTo lift something up.B1
“Could you pick up that book for me?”
2phrasecollectTo collect someone or something.B1
“I will pick up the children at four.”
3phraselearnTo learn something without deliberate study.B2
“She seems to pick up languages without effort.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 2 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

← Vocabulary

pick up

phraseB13 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To pick up is to lift something — to collect somebody — or to learn a thing without trying. One phrase, a great many jobs.

Definitions of pick up

1phrasepick upTo lift something up.B1
“Could you pick up that book for me?”
2phrasecollectTo collect someone or something.B1
“I will pick up the children at four.”
3phraselearnTo learn something without deliberate study.B2
“She seems to pick up languages without effort.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 2 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word