pick up

pick ¹  (pk)

v. picked, pick·ing, picks

v.tr.

1.

a. To select from a group: The best swimmer was picked.

b. To select or cull.

2.

a. To gather in; harvest: They were picking cotton.

b. To gather the harvest from: picked the field in one day.

3.

a. To remove the outer covering of; pluck: pick a chicken clean of feathers.

b. To tear off bit by bit: pick meat from the bones.

4. To remove extraneous matter from (the teeth).

5. To poke and pull at (something) with the fingers.

6. To break up, separate, or detach by means of a sharp pointed instrument.

7. To pierce or make (a hole) with a sharp pointed instrument.

8. To take up (food) with the beak; peck: The parrot picked its seed.

9. To steal the contents of: My pocket was picked.

10. To open (a lock) without the use of a key.

11. To provoke: pick a fight.

12. Music

a. To pluck (an instrument's strings).

b. To play (an instrument) by plucking its strings.

c. To play (a tune) in this manner: picked a melody out on the guitar.

v.intr.

1. To decide with care or forethought.

2. To work with a pick.

3. To find fault or make petty criticisms; carp: He's always picking about something.

4. To be harvested or gathered: The ripe apples picked easily.

n.

1. The act of picking, especially with a sharp pointed instrument.

2. The act of selecting or choosing; choice: got first pick of the desserts.

3. Something selected as the most desirable; the best or choicest part: the pick of the crop.

4. The amount or quantity of a crop that is picked by hand.

5. Basketball A screen.

Phrasal Verbs:

pick apart

To refute or find flaws in by close examination: The lawyer picked the testimony apart.

pick at

1. To pluck or pull at, especially with the fingers.

2. To eat sparingly or without appetite: The child just picked at the food.

3. Informal To nag: Don't pick at me.

pick off

1. To shoot after singling out: The hunter picked the ducks off one by one.

2. Baseball To catch (a base runner) off base and put out with a quick throw, as from the pitcher or catcher, often to a specified base.

3. Sports To intercept, as a football pass.

pick on

To tease or bully.

pick out

1. To choose or select: picked out a nice watch.

2. To discern from the surroundings; distinguish: picked out their cousins from the crowd.

pick over

To sort out or examine item by item: picked over the grapes before buying them.

pick up

1.

a. To take up (something) by hand: pick up a book.

b. To collect or gather: picked up some pebbles.

c. To tidy up: picked up the bedroom.

2. To take on (passengers or freight, for example): The bus picks up commuters at five stops.

3. Informal

a. To acquire casually or by accident: picked up a new coat on sale.

b. To acquire (knowledge) by learning or experience: picked up French quickly.

c. To claim: picked up her car at the repair shop.

d. To buy: picked up some milk at the store.

e. To accept (a bill or charge) in order to pay it: Let me pick up the tab.

f. To come down with (a disease): picked up a virus at school.

g. To gain: picked up five yards on that play.

4. Informal To take into custody: The agents picked up six smugglers.

5. Slang To make casual acquaintance with, usually in anticipation of sexual relations.

6.

a. To come upon and follow: The dog picked up the scent.

b. To come upon and observe: picked up two submarines on sonar.

7. To continue after a break: Let's pick up the discussion after lunch.

8. Informal To improve in condition or activity: Sales picked up last fall.

9. Slang To prepare a sudden departure: She just picked up and left.

Idioms:

pick and choose

To select with great care.

pick holes in

To seek and discover flaws or a flaw in: picked holes in the argument.

pick (one's) way

To find passage and make careful progress through it: picked her way down the slope.

pick (someone) to pieces

To criticize sharply.

pick up on Informal

1. To take into the mind and understand, typically with speed: is quick to pick up on new computer skills.

2. To notice: picked up on my roommate's bad mood and left him alone.

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[Middle English piken, to prick, from Old English *pcian, to prick, and from Old French piquer, to pierce (from Vulgar Latin *piccre; see pique).]

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picker n.

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pick ²  (pk)

n.

1. A tool for breaking hard surfaces, consisting of a curved bar sharpened at both ends and fitted to a long handle.

2.

a. Something, such as an ice pick, toothpick, or picklock, used for picking.

b. A long-toothed comb, usually designed for use on curly hair.

c. A pointed projection on the front of the blade of a figure skate.

3. Music A plectrum.

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[Middle English pik, variant of pike, sharp point; see pike⁵.]

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pick ³  (pk)

n.

1. A weft thread in weaving.

2. A passage or throw of the shuttle in a loom.

tr.v. picked, pick·ing, picks

1. To throw (a shuttle) across a loom.

2. Archaic To cast; pitch.

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[Dialectal, from pick, to pitch, thrust, variant of pitch.]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	pick up - take and lift upward gather up, lift up lift, raise, elevate, get up, bring up - raise from a lower to a higher position; "Raise your hands"; "Lift a load"
	2.	pick up - take up by hand; "He picked up the book and started to read" touch - make physical contact with, come in contact with; "Touch the stone for good luck"; "She never touched her husband"
	3.	pick up - give a passenger or a hitchhiker a lift; "We picked up a hitchhiker on the highway" transport - move something or somebody around; usually over long distances
	4.	pick up - gather or collect; "You can get the results on Monday"; "She picked up the children at the day care center"; "They pick up our trash twice a week" gather up, call for, collect acquire, get - come into the possession of something concrete or abstract; "She got a lot of paintings from her uncle"; "They acquired a new pet"; "Get your results the next day"; "Get permission to take a few days off from work"
	5.	pick up - get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally; "I learned that she has two grown-up children"; "I see that you have been promoted" get a line, get wind, get word, hear, learn, discover, find out, see get the goods - discover some bad or hidden information about; "She got the goods on her co-worker after reading his e-mail" wise up - get wise to; "They wised up to it" trip up, catch - detect a blunder or misstep; "The reporter tripped up the senator" ascertain - learn or discover with certainty discover, find - make a discovery; "She found that he had lied to her"; "The story is false, so far as I can discover" witness, see, find - perceive or be contemporaneous with; "We found Republicans winning the offices"; "You'll see a lot of cheating in this school"; "The 1960's saw the rebellion of the younger generation against established traditions"; "I want to see results"
	6.	pick up - get in addition, as an increase; "The candidate picked up thousands of votes after his visit to the nursing home" acquire, get - come into the possession of something concrete or abstract; "She got a lot of paintings from her uncle"; "They acquired a new pet"; "Get your results the next day"; "Get permission to take a few days off from work"
	7.	pick up - take into custody; "the police nabbed the suspected criminals" arrest, collar, cop, nab, nail, apprehend clutch, prehend, seize - take hold of; grab; "The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter"; "She clutched her purse"; "The mother seized her child by the arm"; "Birds of prey often seize small mammals"
	8.	pick up - buy casually or spontaneously; "I picked up some food for a snack" commerce, commercialism, mercantilism - transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services) buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; "She buys for the big department store"
	9.	pick up - register (perceptual input); "pick up a signal" receive perceive, comprehend - to become aware of through the senses; "I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon" hear - receive a communication from someone; "We heard nothing from our son for five years"
	10.	pick up - lift out or reflect from a background; "The scarf picks up the color of the skirt"; "His eyes picked up his smile" set off, bring out - direct attention to, as if by means of contrast; "This dress accentuates your nice figure!"; "I set off these words by brackets"
	11.	pick up - meet someone for sexual purposes; "he always tries to pick up girls in bars" get together, meet - get together socially or for a specific purpose
	12.	pick up - fill with high spirits; fill with optimism; "Music can uplift your spirits" elate, intoxicate, uplift, lift up stimulate, stir, shake up, excite, shake - stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of; "These stories shook the community"; "the civil war shook the country" beatify - make blessedly happy puff - make proud or conceited; "The sudden fame puffed her ego" beatify, exhilarate, inebriate, tickle pink, exalt, thrill - fill with sublime emotion; "The children were thrilled at the prospect of going to the movies"; "He was inebriated by his phenomenal success"
	13.	pick up - improve significantly; go from bad to good; "Her performance in school picked up" turn around ameliorate, improve, meliorate, better - get better; "The weather improved toward evening"
	14.	pick up - perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily; "I caught the aroma of coffee"; "He caught the allusion in her glance"; "ears open to catch every sound"; "The dog picked up the scent"; "Catch a glimpse" catch perceive, comprehend - to become aware of through the senses; "I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon"
	15.	pick up - eat by pecking at, like a bird peck eat - take in solid food; "She was eating a banana"; "What did you eat for dinner last night?"
	16.	pick up - gain or regain energy; "I picked up after a nap" gain vigor, perk, perk up, percolate convalesce, recover, recuperate - get over an illness or shock; "The patient is recuperating"

Translations

? pick up

vt sep

(= take up) → aufheben; (= lift momentarily) → hochheben; stitch → aufnehmen; to pick up a child in one’s arms → ein Kind auf den Arm nehmen; pick up your feet when you walk! → heb deine Füße (beim Gehen)!; to pick oneself up → aufstehen; as soon as he picks up a book → sobald er ein Buch in die Hand nimmt; it’s the sort of book you can pick up when you have a free minute → das ist so ein Buch, das man mal zwischendurch lesen kann; to pick up the phone → (den Hörer) abnehmen; you just have to pick up the phone → du brauchst nur anzurufen; to pick up the bill (= pay) → die Rechnung bezahlen; to pick up a story → mit einer Geschichte fortfahren; to pick up the pieces (lit, fig) → die Scherben aufsammeln or zusammensuchen; to pick up the thread of a lecture → den Faden (eines Vortrags) wiederfinden; to pick up the threads of one’s life → die Scherben seines Lebens wieder zusammenkitten; the interviewer picked up this reference and … → der Interviewer nahm diese Bemerkung auf or knüpfte an diese Bemerkung an und …

(= get) → holen; (= buy) → bekommen; (= acquire) habit → sich (dat) → angewöhnen; news, gossip → aufschnappen; illness → sich (dat) → holen or zuziehen; (= earn) → verdienen; medal → bekommen, erhalten; to pick something up at a sale → etw im Ausverkauf erwischen; to pick up speed → schneller werden; you never know what you’ll pick up (= what illness etc) → man weiß nie, was man sich (dat) → da holen or zuziehen kann; he picked up a few extra points → er hat ein paar Extrapunkte gemacht; he picked up a reputation as a womanizer → er geriet in den Ruf eines Frauenhelden

(= learn) skill etc → sich (dat) → aneignen; language → lernen; accent, word → aufschnappen; information, tips etc → herausbekommen; idea → aufgreifen; you’ll soon pick it up → du wirst das schnell lernen; where did you pick up that idea? → wo hast du denn die Idee her?

(= collect) person, goods → abholen; I’ll come and pick you up → ich hole dich ab, ich komme dich abholen

(bus etc) passengers → aufnehmen; (in car) → mitnehmen

(= rescue: helicopter, lifeboat) → bergen

(= arrest, catch) wanted man, criminal → schnappen (inf); they picked him up for questioning → sie haben ihn geholt, um ihn zu vernehmen

(inf) girl → aufgabeln (inf); she got picked up at a party → die ist auf einer Party (von einem) abgeschleppt or aufgegabelt worden (inf)

(= find) road → finden; to pick up the trail (Hunt, fig) → die Fährte or Spur aufnehmen

(Rad) station → hereinbekommen, (rein)kriegen (inf); message → empfangen, auffangen; (= see) beacon etc → ausmachen, sichten; (on radar) → ausmachen; (record stylus) sound → aufnehmen; the surface was clearly picked up by the satellite’s cameras → das Bild der Oberfläche wurde von den Satellitenkameras deutlich übermittelt; we picked up a rabbit in the car headlights → wir sahen ein Kaninchen im Scheinwerferlicht

(Brit: = correct, put right) → korrigieren; he picked me up on my bad grammar → er wies auf meine schlechte Grammatik hin; he picked me up for mispronouncing it → er hat meine falsche Aussprache korrigiert

(= restore to health) → wieder auf die Beine stellen

(= spot, identify) mistakes → finden

(US inf: = tidy) room → auf Vordermann bringen (inf)

vi

(= improve) → besser werden; (appetite) → zunehmen; (currency) → sich erholen; (business: after slump) → sich erholen; (engine) → rund laufen; (= accelerate) → schneller werden

(= continue) → weitermachen; to pick up where one left off → da weitermachen, wo man aufgehört hat

(inf) to pick up with somebody (= get to know) → jds Bekanntschaft machen; he has picked up with a rather strange crowd → er hat mit merkwürdigen Leuten Umgang; to pick up on a point → einen Punkt aufgreifen

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pick up → يلتقط zvednout samle op aufheben σηκώνω recoger nostaa ylös relever pokupiti raccogliere 持ち上げる 집어 올리다 oppakken plukke opp podnieść apanhar поднимать plocka up ขับรถไปรับ yerden almak đón 捡起