if something picks up speed, it starts to move faster
if something such as the wind picks up, it becomes stronger
to arrest someone and take them away in a car
to buy something
to earn money
to get an illness
to go and meet someone or something that you have arranged to take somewhere in a vehicle
to improve
to learn a new skill or start a habit without intending to
to lift someone or something up from a surface
to lift something up and take it away
to lift things up and put them in the place where they are kept in order to make a place tidy
to make a place clean and tidy
to notice a smell or sound, or to notice that someone or something is present
to pay for something
to receive an electronic signal on a radio or similar piece of equipment
to recover from a fall or problem
to return to a situation that existed before something went wrong
to start something again, from the point where you stopped
to start talking to someone because you want to have sex with them
to take someone who is waiting by the road into your vehicle and take them somewhere
to try to return to a normal life after a difficult experience
to win something such as a prize
After the death of a partner, it can be difficult to pick up the threads of your life.
He picked the phone up and dialled.
He seems to think that we can get back together and just pick up where we left off.
He walked out on his family, leaving his wife to pick up the pieces.
He was picked up in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Her father picks up the tab for her expensive lifestyle.
I am constantly picking up the things the children leave lying around.
I don’t think this thing can pick up foreign stations.
I’ll pick up my luggage in the morning.
I’ve already asked them to pick their toys up.
Most tourists are worried that they’ll pick up a nasty stomach bug.
Nobody knows if Jim will ever pick himself up after his wife left him.
Pick up a leaflet from your doctor’s.
She picked up a few German phrases while staying in Berlin.
She rushed to pick up the baby as soon as it started to cry.
She went home with some man she picked up in a bar.
The dogs must have picked up his scent.
The film is tipped to pick up at least three Oscars.
They won’t let him out of hospital until his health has picked up quite a lot.
We picked up a hitchhiker on the way.
We’ll pick up this conversation when I come back.
Will you pick me up after the party?
a market where you can pick up some amazing bargains
the huge salaries that footballers pick up these days
pick up
picks up
picking up
picked up
There is no origin for this phrasal verb
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