1
as in to master
to acquire complete knowledge, understanding, or skill in
he has a knack for picking up a language in a few weeks
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Relevance
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2
as in to collect
to bring together in one body or place
pick up all of your things because we have to be off this beach before dark
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3
as in to buy
to get possession of (something) by giving money in exchange for
could you pick up some milk at the store?
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4
as in to gain
to gradually increase in
the boat was just picking up speed when it was rammed by another boat
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5
as in to lift
to move from a lower to a higher place or position
pick up your feet while I vacuum in front of the sofa
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6
as in to arrest
to take or keep under one's control by authority of law
police picked up the fugitive when she went out to buy food
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7
as in to clean house
to make a place neat and orderly by removing extraneous stuff
I thought you said you had picked up, so why are these things still lying around the rec room?
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8
as in to resume
to begin again or return to after an interruption
after the protestors were removed from the auditorium, the speaker picked up his lecture right where he had left off
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9
as in to trim
to make neat
the boy's bedroom looked like it hadn't been picked up in quite a while
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pick up
Katie Rife, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
Silvetti picked up a yellow card in the 69th minute and was later substituted for by Yannick Bright in the 74th minute as Miami looked to bolster its defense for the final stretch of the game.
—Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald, 9 Nov. 2025
The test, known as Galleri, picked up cancer signals in 216 people, and 133 of them were found to actually have cancer.
—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 9 Nov. 2025
It was then picked up by Netflix in 2014, which produced five more seasons.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pick up
Verb
Yet other filmmakers pick up on the thread of romantic longing Whale introduced in 1935 with The Bride of Frankenstein, leading to films like Edward Scissorhands (1990) in which the monster becomes a sentimental anti-hero.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for pick up
Verb
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The Cowboys have mastered the art of entertaining and interesting better than any sports franchise in the world, but there is a redundancy that to the person who spends a lot of their money on it is justifiably checked out.—
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At the sound level, our engineer is a guy who makes all the greatest dance music in the Latin world right now [Josh Gudwin is the records’ mixing engineer and Dale Becker mastering engineer].—
Verb
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The following burglaries are from reports collected from the Little Rock Police Department.—
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Since then, she's collected 45 years' worth of passport stamps, crossing off destinations like Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Thailand, Bhutan, Morocco, and Kenya on her travel wish list.—
Verb
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More than 5,000 people have bought it at Amazon and given it high ratings.—
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A lot of schools are running black and gold days on Monday, so local people are coming in, and travelers are buying stuff to wear to the game.—
Verb
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If Enceladus doesn’t gain enough energy, its surface activity would slow down or stop, and the ocean could eventually freeze.—
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A week after a 27-10 road win at Syracuse, North Carolina turned in a dreadful first half against Stanford (3-7, 2-5 ACC), gaining only 47 total yards on its way to a 3-3 halftime tie.—
Verb
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Once the polish is fully dry and hardened, use a credit card or your fingers to lift under the blob and break it off.—
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Matthew Stafford threw a 19-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with 38 seconds to lift the Los Angeles Rams to a dramatic 34-31 wild-card round win over the Carolina Panthers in the opening game of the NFL playoffs on Saturday.—
Verb
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Deputies arrested Sargent on Thursday on two felony animal-cruelty counts and one misdemeanor count.—
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Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) demanded that if and when Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino returns to Chicago, he should be arrested.—
Verb
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Giddey has resumed some off-ball activities such as stop-and-start sprints, but coach Billy Donovan said he hasn’t been cleared for a full slate of cutting, running and sprinting.—
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Fox then resumed workouts and added 15 pounds of muscle, growing to 205.—
Verb
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Fears aired an alley-oop dunk to forward Carson Cooper on the next play, the first score of the second half, to trim Arkansas’ lead to 39-38.—
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The key is to fold the scarf over itself to create volume and to look for a lace trim that leaves the hem frayed, so as not to look too formal.—
Cite this Entry
“Pick up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pick%20up. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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