Also called: pick-up arm. tone arm. the light balanced arm of a record player that carries the wires from the cartridge to the preamplifier
an electromagnetic transducer that converts the vibrations of the steel strings of an electric guitar or other amplified instrument into electric signals
another name for cartridge
Also called: pick-up truck. a small truck with an open body and low sides, used for light deliveries
informal an ability to accelerate rapidly
this car has good pick-up
informal a casual acquaintance, usually one made with sexual intentions
informal
a stop to collect passengers, goods, etc
the people or things collected
slang a free ride in a motor vehicle
informal an improvement
slang a pick-me-up
(tr) to gather up in the hand or hands
(tr) to acquire, obtain, or purchase casually, incidentally, etc
(tr) to catch (a disease)
she picked up a bad cold during the weekend
(intr) to improve in health, condition, activity, etc
the market began to pick up
(reflexive) to raise (oneself) after a fall or setback
(tr) to notice or sense
she picked up a change in his attitude
to resume where one left off; return to
we'll pick up after lunch
they picked up the discussion
(tr) to learn gradually or as one goes along
(tr) to take responsibility for paying (a bill)
he picked up the bill for dinner
informal (tr) to reprimand
he picked her up on her table manners
(tr) to collect or give a lift to (passengers, hitchhikers, goods, etc)
informal (tr) to become acquainted with, esp with a view to having sexual relations
informal (tr) to arrest
to increase (speed)
the cars picked up down the straight
(tr) to receive (electrical signals, a radio signal, sounds, etc), as for transmission or amplification
to restore a situation to normality after a crisis or collapse
Lift, take up by hand, as in Please pick up that book from the floor . [Early 1300s]
Collect or gather, as in First they had to pick up the pieces of broken glass .
Tidy, put in order, as in Let's pick up the bedroom , or I'm always picking up after Pat . [Mid-1800s]
Take on passengers or freight, as in The bus picks up commuters at three stops .
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]
Claim, as in He picked up his laundry every Friday .
Buy, as in Please pick up some wine at the store on your way home .
. Accept a charge in order to pay it, as in They always wait for us to pick up the tab . [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s]
Increase speed or rate, as in The plane picked up speed , or The conductor told the strings to pick up the tempo .
Gain, as in They picked up five yards on that pass play .
Take into custody, apprehend, as in The police picked him up for burglary . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1800s]
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]
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 .
Resume, as in Let's pick up the conversation after lunch .
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]
Gather one's belongings, as in She just picked up and left him .
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 .
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Barely a day goes by where she doesn’t bump into former co-workers from the hospital — at the grocery store or the coffee shop or school pick-up.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
He had his team play pick-up soccer games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Airport bosses said the rise in the tariff for a 10-minute stay at the dedicated drop-off and pick-up zone right outside the main terminal building was "unavoidable".
From BBC ● May 11, 2026
Jimmy Fallon, whose company is co-producing the show, and Guthrie announced the series pick-up Monday on NBC’s “Today.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
She had just overturned the ashtray with her knee and was rapidly, with her fingers, brushing the spilled ashes into a little pick-up pile; her eyes looked up at him a second too late.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
Mid-listen, you can tap a button, ask your question, hear the answer, and then pick up the story right where you left off.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
“It’s like driving a Lamborghini to go to the grocery store to pick up milk when that was designed to be raced around a track,” he said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Working in food truck businesses has given Ramirez first-hand knowledge of how to efficiently lay out a mobile kitchen and set up new food vendors for success before they even pick up a knife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Shortly after CEO Dan Schulman took over the top post, he vowed in January that the company would stop being a “hunting ground” for wireless competitors looking to pick up new subscribers of their own.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Angela whispered, bending down to pick up looped coils from the floor of the cave.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
