pick up

verb

1. 1

   gain or regain energy

   I picked up after a nap

2. 2

   improve significantly; go from bad to good

   Her performance in school picked up

3. 3

   lift out or reflect from a background

   The scarf picks up the color of the skirt

   His eyes picked up his smile

4. 4

   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

5. 5

   eat by pecking at, like a bird

6. 6

   take up by hand

   He picked up the book and started to read

7. 7

   take into custody

   the police nabbed the suspected criminals

8. 8

   fill with high spirits; fill with optimism

   Music can uplift your spirits

9. 9

   give a passenger or a hitchhiker a lift

   We picked up a hitchhiker on the highway

10. 10

    take and lift upward

11. 11

    register (perceptual input)

    pick up a signal

12. 12

    perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily

    I caught the aroma of coffee

    He caught the allusion in her glance