plural pickups
1
: one that is picked up: such as
a
: a hitchhiker who is given a ride
b
: a temporary chance acquaintance
c
: a player acquired from another team
2
: the act or process of picking up: such as
a
: a revival of business activity
b
c
: the act or technique of making the acquaintance of a previously unknown person especially for amorous purposes
d
: the act of collecting someone or something to be carried or transported away
Is your order for pickup or delivery?
We'll call your name when your food is ready for pickup.
… please have your party call you for pickup after they have retrieved their luggage.—
Rebecca Turco
Rebecca Turco3
: the conversion of mechanical movements into electrical impulses in the reproduction of sound
also
: a device (as on an electric guitar) for making such conversion
4
a
: the reception of sound or an image into a radio or television transmitting apparatus for conversion into electrical signals
b
: a device (such as a microphone or a television camera) for converting sound or the image of a scene into electrical signals
5
or pickup truck
: a light truck having an enclosed cab and an open body with low sides and tailgate
6
: a pickup game
playing pickup
: utilizing or comprising local or available personnel especially without formal organization
a pickup basketball game
a pickup band
picked up; picking up; picks up
1
2
: to take (passengers or freight) into a vehicle
3
a
: to acquire casually or by chance
picked up a valuable antique at an auction
b
: to acquire by study or experience : learn
picking up a great deal of knowledge in the process—Robert Schleicher
Robert Schleicher
c
: to obtain especially by payment : buy
picked up some groceries
d
: to acquire (a player) especially from another team through a trade or by financial recompense
e
: to accept for the purpose of paying
offered to pick up the tab
f
: to come down with : catch
picked up a cold
4
a
: to enter informally into conversation or companionship with (a previously unknown person)
had a brief affair with a girl he picked up in a bar
b
: to take into custody
the police picked up the fugitive
5
a
: to catch sight of : perceive
picked up the harbor lights
b
: to come to and follow
picked up the outlaw's trail
c
: to bring within range of sight or hearing
pick up distant radio signals
d
: understand, catch
didn't pick up the hint
7
: to resume after a break : continue
pick up the discussion tomorrow
8
: to assume responsibility for guarding (an opponent) in an athletic contest
9
: to provide needed support or assistance to (someone who has faltered or failed, such as a teammate who has made an error) in a collaborative effort
… Burns allowed only five hits and did not issue a walk. She also picked up her teammates after several fielding errors.—John Knebels
John KnebelsWe have faith. We don't panic. Even in all these one-run ballgames, we have trust in each other that we're going to pull it out. We pick each other up. On days we're not pitching it great, our offense gets going and vice versa.—Marco Gonzales
Marco Gonzales1
: to recover or increase speed, vigor, or activity : improve
after the strike, business picked up
the wind began to pick up
2
: to put things in order
was always picking up after her
3
: to pack up one's belongings
couldn't just pick up and leave
Synonyms
Examples of pickup in a Sentence
Noun
The fee pays for garbage pickup.
The school bus was late for its afternoon pickup.
The truck is scheduled to make a pickup today.
Adjective
He plays with pickup bands at nightclubs.
What's the pickup scene like in this city?
Verb
he has a knack for picking up a language in a few weeks
pick up all of your things because we have to be off this beach before dark
See More
Recent Examples on the WebChristina Coulter, Fox News, 23 Nov. 2023
Clark was in the Ram pickup with his girlfriend, according to Smith.
—Marilyn Heck, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023
Home delivery and curbside pickup helped Sam’s Club’s e-commerce net sales grow 16%.
—arkansasonline.com, 17 Nov. 2023
For four seconds, Nathaniel Veltman floored the gas pedal, hurtling his pickup truck toward a Muslim family of five out for an evening walk in London, Ontario, killing four of them.
—Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
And on some large pickups, the hoods are almost at eye level for many adults.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 14 Nov. 2023
Two of her siblings, Natalie, 15, and Kody, 14, help her box the produce and load it into a pickup, while her brother Blake, 11, helps pull weeds.
—Cathy Free, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
Those who buy directly from Apple.com can get free two-hour delivery from their local Apple store or in-store pickup.
—Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Nov. 2023
Hazmat suits will be available at pickup, along with a vial of antidote and a settlement release form from the government.
—Claire Friedman, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Oct. 2023
The result has been an unusual but also distinctly Texan sort of boomtown — row after row of affordable homes and trailers, taquerias and pickup trucks — emerging where not long before there had been nothing.
—J. David Goodman Danielle Villasana, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2023
Earlier that year, Amazon was an investor in a $700 million financing round for the EV startup, which makes electric SUVs and pickup trucks in addition to the Amazon electric delivery vans.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 18 Oct. 2023
The video, which The Post has reviewed but could not immediately verify, appears to show two young men on the floor of a pickup truck with their hands tied behind their backs.
—Imogen Piper, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023
In this instance, a white couple in a pickup truck surveilled and took photos of three Black teens riding their bikes from CVS Pharmacy to Walgreens in the Beech Grove suburb outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.
—Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 4 Oct. 2023
Civilians in Gaza crammed possessions into cars, taxis and pickup trucks in a mass rush toward the south.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 13 Oct. 2023
On motorcycles and in pickup trucks, the assailants surged into Israel, overwhelming at least eight military bases and waging terrorist attacks against civilians in more than 15 villages and cities.
—Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
Militants here are gathered in groups on the back of pickup trucks where one of the men can be seen running through the fence on foot before launching a missile from a handheld device.
—Victoria Beaule, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2023
Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 1 Dec. 2023
The development meant that Pedri has played 45 minutes or more for Barca in 100 games, in a landmark that should have been reached last season had he not been sidelined with an injury picked up against Manchester United in the Europa League.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Christopher Nolan won best director for Oppenheimer, which also picked up a best cinematography award.
—Hilary Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2023
The story picks up from the first season in which Irish investigators probed a series of bombings in Belgium.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023
The great wealth transfer is picking up steam among the wealthiest.
—Juliet Chung, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
Many shoppers also picked up the second-generation AirPods Pro.
Crest 3D Whitestrips Professional Effects
Get nearly a month's supply of teeth whitening with this Crest Whitestrips kit, which includes 44 strips and two one-hour treatments.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2023
Awards: The Heroes Gotham Needs The Gotham Awards were handed out on Monday night, and, as mentioned, Past Lives picked up the night’s top honor.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Nov. 2023
The story picks up a year or so later, with the Slough House staff still moldering.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023
See More
Noun
Since the shooting, the man's pickup truck has been towed from the store's parking lot, per the New York Post, and has been searched along with Jones' home.
—Christina Coulter, Fox News, 23 Nov. 2023
Clark was in the Ram pickup with his girlfriend, according to Smith.
—Marilyn Heck, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023
Home delivery and curbside pickup helped Sam’s Club’s e-commerce net sales grow 16%.
—arkansasonline.com, 17 Nov. 2023
For four seconds, Nathaniel Veltman floored the gas pedal, hurtling his pickup truck toward a Muslim family of five out for an evening walk in London, Ontario, killing four of them.
—Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
And on some large pickups, the hoods are almost at eye level for many adults.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 14 Nov. 2023
Two of her siblings, Natalie, 15, and Kody, 14, help her box the produce and load it into a pickup, while her brother Blake, 11, helps pull weeds.
—Cathy Free, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
Those who buy directly from Apple.com can get free two-hour delivery from their local Apple store or in-store pickup.
—Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Nov. 2023
Hazmat suits will be available at pickup, along with a vial of antidote and a settlement release form from the government.
—Claire Friedman, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Adjective
That seems to be taking pickup basketball way too literally.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Oct. 2023
The result has been an unusual but also distinctly Texan sort of boomtown — row after row of affordable homes and trailers, taquerias and pickup trucks — emerging where not long before there had been nothing.
—J. David Goodman Danielle Villasana, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2023
Earlier that year, Amazon was an investor in a $700 million financing round for the EV startup, which makes electric SUVs and pickup trucks in addition to the Amazon electric delivery vans.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 18 Oct. 2023
The video, which The Post has reviewed but could not immediately verify, appears to show two young men on the floor of a pickup truck with their hands tied behind their backs.
—Imogen Piper, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023
In this instance, a white couple in a pickup truck surveilled and took photos of three Black teens riding their bikes from CVS Pharmacy to Walgreens in the Beech Grove suburb outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.
—Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 4 Oct. 2023
Civilians in Gaza crammed possessions into cars, taxis and pickup trucks in a mass rush toward the south.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 13 Oct. 2023
On motorcycles and in pickup trucks, the assailants surged into Israel, overwhelming at least eight military bases and waging terrorist attacks against civilians in more than 15 villages and cities.
—Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
Militants here are gathered in groups on the back of pickup trucks where one of the men can be seen running through the fence on foot before launching a missile from a handheld device.
—Victoria Beaule, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2023
Verb
After the wider media and collector community picked up on Perez’s claim, the piece sold for just over $453,600—still a hefty price, but far below expectations.
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 1 Dec. 2023
The development meant that Pedri has played 45 minutes or more for Barca in 100 games, in a landmark that should have been reached last season had he not been sidelined with an injury picked up against Manchester United in the Europa League.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Christopher Nolan won best director for Oppenheimer, which also picked up a best cinematography award.
—Hilary Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2023
The story picks up from the first season in which Irish investigators probed a series of bombings in Belgium.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023
The great wealth transfer is picking up steam among the wealthiest.
—Juliet Chung, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
Many shoppers also picked up the second-generation AirPods Pro.
Crest 3D Whitestrips Professional Effects
Get nearly a month's supply of teeth whitening with this Crest Whitestrips kit, which includes 44 strips and two one-hour treatments.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2023
Awards: The Heroes Gotham Needs The Gotham Awards were handed out on Monday night, and, as mentioned, Past Lives picked up the night’s top honor.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Nov. 2023
The story picks up a year or so later, with the Slough House staff still moldering.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pickup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
1898, in the meaning defined above
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of pickup was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing pickup
Dictionary Entries Near pickup
Cite this Entry
“Pickup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pickup. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
pickup
1 of 2 noun
pick·up
ˈpik-ˌəp
1
a
: an increase in activity
a pickup in business
2
: one (as a hitchhiker or chance acquaintance) that is picked up
3
a
: the changing of mechanical movements into electrical energy in the reproduction of sound
b
: a device (as on a phonograph) for making such a change
4
a
: the receiving of sound or an image into a radio or television transmitting device
b
: a device (as a microphone or a television camera) for converting sound or an image into electrical signals
5
: a light truck with an open body and low sides
called also pickup truck
pick up
2 of 2 verb(ˈ)pik-ˈəp
1
2
: to take (passengers or freight) into a vehicle
3
a
: to acquire without great effort or by chance
pick up a habit
picked up a nasty cold
b
: to gain by study or experience
picked up a new language while traveling
c
: to obtain especially by buying or as a bargain
picked up the shirts on sale
d
: to form a brief or chance acquaintance with a stranger
e
: to take into custody
was picked up by the police
4
: to find and follow
picked up the outlaw's trail
5
: to bring within range of sight or hearing
a radio that picks up foreign broadcasts
6
: to gather or regain speed or strength
More from Merriam-Webster on pickup
Nglish: Translation of pickup for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pickup
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share