The main definition of PICK UP is to lift something or someone.
Here are two examples:
- The boy picked up his baby brother and put him to bed.
- Could you pick up the phone please? It’s ringing but I can’t answer it, because my hands are dirty.
The phrasal verb ‘pick up’ has several different meanings. These are listed below with sentence examples:
To make progress or improve:
- Business has been picking up since we advertised our new promotion.
To gain, obtain, or casually learn something by opportunity:
- I picked up Spanish while I was on holiday in Chile.
To collect something:
- I’m going to pick up my parcel from the post office.
To bring into range of transmission or reception:
- I managed to pick up the local radio station in my car
To take on as a passenger:
- The taxi driver picked me up from the hotel.
To cause someone’s health, luck or courage to recover:
- Why don’t you go on a holiday? Your health might pick up.
To become acquainted with informally or casually:
- They all go to that bar to pick up girls
To resume or continue something after stopping for a while:
- Now that you’re back from holiday, you can pick up your previous responsibilities from where you left off.
To accelerate, gain speed:
- He picked up his speed when he noticed he was being followed.
To put in a good, tidy order:
- Pick your clothes up and put them where they belong please.
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