pickup

American  

[pik-uhp] / ˈpɪkˌʌp /

noun

pickups plural

1. an improvement, as in health, business conditions, work, production, etc.

2. Informal. pick-me-up.

3. Informal. a casual, usually unintroduced acquaintance, often one made in hope of a sexual relationship.

4. an instance of stopping for or taking aboard passengers or freight, as by a train, ship, taxicab, etc., especially an instance of taking freight or a shipment of goods onto a truck.

5. the person, freight, or shipment so taken aboard.

   The cab driver had a pickup at the airport who wanted to be driven to the docks.

6. Automotive.

   1. capacity for rapid acceleration.

   2. acceleration; increase in speed.

   3. Also called pickup truck.  a small truck with a low-sided open body, used for deliveries and light hauling.

7. Baseball. the act of fielding a ball after it hits the ground.

8. Also called cartridge.  a small device attached to the end of a phonograph tone arm that contains a stylus and the mechanism that translates the movement of the stylus in a record groove into a changing electrical voltage.

9. Radio.

   1. the act of receiving sound waves in the transmitting set in order to change them into electrical waves.

   2. a receiving or recording device.

   3. the place from which a broadcast is being transmitted.

   4. interference.

10. Television.

    1. the change of light energy into electrical energy in a television camera.

    2. camera tube.

    3. a telecast made directly from the scene of an action.

11. a hitchhiker.

12. Metalworking. (in the cold-drawing of metal) the adhesion of particles of the metal to the die or plug.

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adjective

1. composed of or employing whatever persons are available on a more or less impromptu basis.

   a pickup game of baseball; a pickup dance band.

2. using whatever ingredients are handy or available.

   a Sunday night pickup supper.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pickups
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pickup

First recorded in 1855–60; noun use of verb phrase pick up

Explanation

A pickup is a truck with an open bed, perfect for helping a friend move into a new apartment. It's also the act of picking something up — so you might make the furniture pickup in your pickup. The meanings of pickup include takeout: "I ordered the pad Thai for pickup." It also means "acceleration," like your dad's speedy car with amazing pickup or the pickup in sales at your lemonade stand on a hot day. And in sports a pickup game is impromptu and casual. As for a light truck with a closed cab, pickup is short for pickup truck, named after how handy it is for picking things up and delivering them.

Example Sentences

They said the boy took the pickup without permission before losing control and crashing into the monks, according to Agence France-Presse.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

It also sold 12,364 other models, including the Cybertruck electric pickup truck.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026

Figures released by the company also showed a drop in sales of GM electric vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup truck.

From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026

A private gauge showed China’s manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in June due to tapered factory production, diverging from a pickup shown in a competing index.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

When I got there, a beat-up orange pickup was parked in the driveway with a dog crate in the back, and I heard some woman’s voice inside with my parents.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

Related Words

• acceleration