pick up

Verb

• gain or regain energy
  • I picked up after a nap
    

• eat by pecking at, like a bird

• 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
    

• improve significantly; go from bad to good
  • Her performance in school picked up
    

• fill with high spirits; fill with optimism
  • Music can uplift your spirits
    

• meet someone for sexual purposes
  • he always tries to pick up girls in bars
    

• lift out or reflect from a background
  • The scarf picks up the color of the skirt
    
  • His eyes picked up his smile
    

• register (perceptual input)
  • pick up a signal
    

• buy casually or spontaneously
  • I picked up some food for a snack
    

• take into custody
  • the police nabbed the suspected criminals
    

• get in addition, as an increase
  • The candidate picked up thousands of votes after his visit to the nursing home
    

• 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
    

• 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
    

• give a passenger or a hitchhiker a lift
  • We picked up a hitchhiker on the highway
    

• take up by hand
  • He picked up the book and started to read
    

• take and lift upward

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  perk up , perk , percolate , gain vigor , peck , catch , turn around , elate , lift up , uplift , intoxicate , receive , collar , nail , apprehend , arrest , nab , cop , learn , hear , get word , get wind , find out , get a line , discover , see , collect , gather up , call for
• Antonyms: 
  depress , deject , cast down , get down , dismay , dispirit , demoralize , demoralise