1
as in mastering
to acquire complete knowledge, understanding, or skill in
he has a knack for picking up a language in a few weeks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in assembling
to bring together in one body or place
pick up all of your things because we have to be off this beach before dark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in buying
to get possession of (something) by giving money in exchange for
could you pick up some milk at the store?
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in growing (in)
to gradually increase in
the boat was just picking up speed when it was rammed by another boat
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in lifting
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in arresting
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 cleaning 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 resuming
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 trimming
to make neat
the boy's bedroom looked like it hadn't been picked up in quite a while
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of picking up
Residents, businesses and organizations are also invited to participate in the department’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline awareness campaign by picking up a 988 yard sign at the county office at 2170 Point Blvd.
—
Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2026
Hukporti barely had time to settle in before picking up three fouls in just under four minutes.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 7 May 2026
Widespread rainfall totals of an inch to 2 inches are possible through Friday across Southeast Texas, with isolated areas picking up 3 inches or more.
—Newsroom Meteorologist, Houston Chronicle, 7 May 2026
This is the latest example of Netflix picking up a series based on a digital format.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
Job cuts are picking up across the tech sector as companies reckon with the AI boom.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026
Charges say surveillance video from the day care shows the woman picking up a child and falling backward into the wall, also slamming the child's head into the wall.
—Riley Moser, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
Swapped is Jordan’s first movie since picking up the Best Actor nomination for Sinners.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2026
The White House has scheduled a party for Friday and you, taxpayer, will be picking up the check – in more ways than one.
—Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, 26 Mar. 2026
Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2026
Hukporti barely had time to settle in before picking up three fouls in just under four minutes.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 7 May 2026
Widespread rainfall totals of an inch to 2 inches are possible through Friday across Southeast Texas, with isolated areas picking up 3 inches or more.
—Newsroom Meteorologist, Houston Chronicle, 7 May 2026
This is the latest example of Netflix picking up a series based on a digital format.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
Job cuts are picking up across the tech sector as companies reckon with the AI boom.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026
Charges say surveillance video from the day care shows the woman picking up a child and falling backward into the wall, also slamming the child's head into the wall.
—Riley Moser, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
Swapped is Jordan’s first movie since picking up the Best Actor nomination for Sinners.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2026
The White House has scheduled a party for Friday and you, taxpayer, will be picking up the check – in more ways than one.
—Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for picking up
Verb
-
Most people spend year one with their heads down, mastering the job.—
Andy Molinsky,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
-
While others were mastering the blues, Jimi Hendrix was rewiring rock.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
At its core, storytelling is still the nature of his work—finding the truths of a player’s prowess and assembling a narrative about his future performance.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Families are assembling adjacent estates over time, creating compounds designed to remain within clans for generations.—
Natalie Hoberman,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Perhaps that was due to his wife, Karen, who had a very specific list of requirements for buying a business.—
Chelsea Brasted,
Southern Living,
15 May 2026
-
Across town, Jose Mourinho had been buying big, powerful players (Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic, Romelu Lukaku) to build his Manchester United team around.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
No doubt the bill of materials will be lower on this twelve-month-old design, lifting the margins on what will remain the current vanilla handset.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
Appropriately, 19 miles east of their first major trophy lift since the 2021/22 League Cup, City men busied themselves by lifting the FA Cup over Chelsea in what was Pep Guardiola’s 24th visit to Wembley Stadium and his 20th major trophies as City manager.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
After arresting the man, the complaint says police found a black iPhone tucked between the driver's seat and the center console in his car.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
-
The movie fumbles the chance to do something arresting with this seminal period in art.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Odenkirk returned to set just over a month afterward, resuming filming in September 2021.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
17 May 2026
-
The two discussed bilateral relations and the prospects for resuming US-Iran peace negotiations, for which Pakistan has been the main mediator, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.—
Skylar Woodhouse,
Fortune,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Mamdani’s Executive Budget rightly addresses some of this excess, trimming DOC’s uniformed headcount by 586 positions, and putting the city on track to save $78 million next year.—
Jason Rodriguez,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
-
The conglomerate also fully exited Amazon after trimming the position late last year.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Work with that element of chance because learning to enjoy embracing—working with it—is fun and fun isn’t logical, and logic isn’t always your ally in that initial stage of creation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
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Torn between toiling away at farmwork, his corrective swimming lessons, and learning music from a local organist — the elderly Michel (Alexandre Astier, Clichy’s former directing partner), who shows him more kindness than most — Christophe’s world gradually widens.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Picking up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/picking%20up. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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