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• pick-up
  pick-up

  noun

  the light balanced arm of a record player that carries the wires from the cartridge to the preamplifier
• pick up
  pick up

  Lift, take up by hand, as in Please pick up that book from the floor . [Early 1300s]

pick-up

British  

noun

1. 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

2. an electromagnetic transducer that converts the vibrations of the steel strings of an electric guitar or other amplified instrument into electric signals

3. another name for cartridge

4. Also called: pick-up truck.  a small truck with an open body and low sides, used for light deliveries

5. informal an ability to accelerate rapidly

   this car has good pick-up

6. informal a casual acquaintance, usually one made with sexual intentions

7. informal

   1. a stop to collect passengers, goods, etc

   2. the people or things collected

8. slang a free ride in a motor vehicle

9. informal an improvement

10. slang a pick-me-up

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adjective

1. organized, arranged, or assembled hastily and without planning

   a pick-up band

   pick-up games

verb

1. (tr) to gather up in the hand or hands

2. (tr) to acquire, obtain, or purchase casually, incidentally, etc

3. (tr) to catch (a disease)

   she picked up a bad cold during the weekend

4. (intr) to improve in health, condition, activity, etc

   the market began to pick up

5. (reflexive) to raise (oneself) after a fall or setback

6. (tr) to notice or sense

   she picked up a change in his attitude

7. to resume where one left off; return to

   we'll pick up after lunch

   they picked up the discussion

8. (tr) to learn gradually or as one goes along

9. (tr) to take responsibility for paying (a bill)

   he picked up the bill for dinner

10. informal (tr) to reprimand

    he picked her up on her table manners

11. (tr) to collect or give a lift to (passengers, hitchhikers, goods, etc)

12. informal (tr) to become acquainted with, esp with a view to having sexual relations

13. informal (tr) to arrest

14. to increase (speed)

    the cars picked up down the straight

15. (tr) to receive (electrical signals, a radio signal, sounds, etc), as for transmission or amplification

16. to restore a situation to normality after a crisis or collapse

pick up Idioms  

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. . 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 .

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pick-up pick up

The vehicle, a Ford Raptor pick-up truck - commonly known as a bakkie in South Africa - was later recovered abandoned in Walkerville, an area south of Johannesburg, police said.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Saddam Ali escaped from Al-Waziyah with his 11 children and a few possessions crammed into a small pick-up truck.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Crane operators maneuvered twisted I-beams as if playing pick-up sticks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

“I played soccer, pick-up basketball, baseball. I actually credit my success in sports keeping it fun. I go to the park to throw a football with my friends, then go play hoops in some backyard.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

I have spoken with approval, even affection, of Rocinante but not of the pick-up truck on which the camper top rode.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Coventry are the only Premier League team yet to pick up a point this season.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The cabs kept passing him to pick up younger riders just metres away who were using smartphone apps to hail their rides.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

With Mater Dei in their own half of the field on a third down, he found Honore along the sideline to pick up a first down and effectively end the contest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

A few blocks north of Canal Street, where tourists pick up fake designer bags for a fraction of what the genuine articles retail for, another kind of luxury mimicry has emerged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Duane would need to pick up as much speed as possible.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Related Words

• acquire
• buy
• gain
• gather
• get
• have
• learn
• purchase
• score
• take