pick up
To lift something, go and get someone, or learn something without really trying.
Meanings
To lift something from the ground or a surface.
"Could you pick up that pen you dropped?"
To collect someone from a place, often by car.
"I'll pick the kids up from school at half three."
To learn or acquire a skill, habit, or language informally, without deliberate study.
"She picked up a few words of Japanese just from living in Tokyo for a year."
To improve or increase after a period of decline (intransitive).
"Sales really picked up in the second half of the year."
One of the most common and versatile phrasal verbs in English with many distinct senses. Very common in everyday speech and writing. The sense of 'collecting someone' is frequently used for driving contexts. The 'learning informally' sense is very useful for language learners. The 'improving' sense is intransitive. Common in both British and American English.
Commonly used with
Forms
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Synonyms
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