PICKING UP Synonyms: 333 Similar and Opposite Words

picking up

verb

Definition of picking up next

present participle of pick up

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

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

as in buying

to get possession of (something) by giving money in exchange for could you pick up some milk at the store?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in growing (in)

to gradually increase in the boat was just picking up speed when it was rammed by another boat

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in trimming

to make neat the boy's bedroom looked like it hadn't been picked up in quite a while

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of picking up 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 Scenes of Japanese soccer fans sweeping stadiums and picking up trash after a match first drew public attention in France in 1998 — Japan’s first appearance in the World Cup. —

Stephen Wade, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 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

Pig organs are similar enough in size and function to humans', but transplanting entire organs was completely out of reach until about a decade ago when scientists began mastering gene editing well enough to breed pigs whose organs are less likely to be rejected by the human immune system.

— Karen Weintraub, USA Today, 3 May 2026
But there’s a real satisfaction in watching Ohm figure out the suite’s unique conveniences, run by analog systems of pulleys and levers, confronting the terrors within and mastering them for his survival.

— Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 2 May 2026