pickup

[pik-uhp]

noun

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.

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pickup¹

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

Example Sentences

Industry forecasters predict a pickup in home sales in 2026, with varying expectations for mortgage rates and price changes.

Read more on Barron's

The finance and insurance sector’s growth is expected to remain robust, as falling interest rates and a buoyant equity market should support a pickup in loan growth and wealth management fees.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They imply a pickup in growth: TE’s sales have grown closer to 4% annually in recent years.

Read more on Barron's

A Sept. 16 fire at the plant reduced production of F-150 pickups and other models.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But investors shouldn’t read too much into October’s pickup in sales, Selma Hepp, the chief economist at real estate technology provider Cotality, wrote in Wednesday commentary.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• acceleration