pick up

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pick-up" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pick up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To lift; to grasp and raise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pick-up · pick up · English

pick up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for pick up
PropertyValue
Headwordpick up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pick up” in English

pick upsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pick up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 24 senses are on record.

pick up doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is pick up, spelled P-I-C-K- -U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To lift; to grasp and raise.
  2. 2
    To collect an object, especially in passing.
  3. 3
    To acquire (something) accidentally; to catch or contract (a disease).
  4. 4
    To clean up; to return to an organized state.
  5. 5
    To collect a passenger.
  6. 6
    To collect and detain (a suspect).
  7. 7
    To obtain and publish a story, news item, etc.
  8. 8
    To improve, increase, or speed up.
  9. 9
    To restart or resume.
  10. 10
    To reach and continue along (a road).
  11. 11
    To learn, to grasp; to begin to understand; to realize.
  12. 12
    To receive (a radio signal or the like).
  13. 13
    To notice, detect or discern; to pick up on.
  14. 14
    To point out the behaviour, habits, or actions of (a person) in a critical manner; used with on.
  15. 15
    To meet and seduce somebody for romantic purposes, especially in a social situation.
  16. 16
    To answer a telephone.
  17. 17
    To receive calls; to function correctly.
  18. 18
    To pay for.
  19. 19
    To reduce the despondency of.
  20. 20
    To take control (physically) of something.
  21. 21
    To mark, to defend against an opposition player by following them closely.
  22. 22
    To record; to notch up.
  23. 23
    To behave in a manner that results in a foul.
  24. 24
    To promote somebody who was previously passed over.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pick up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When you pick up the bag, make sure to support the bottom.
  2. Evidently some, or all, of the boars immolated themselves, for the train crew are reported to have picked up three dead boars and continued to Sézanne, the next stop, where they gave them to the local hospital cooks.

This word in other languages

coger(Español)soulever(Français)aufheben(Deutsch)pegar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pick up"?
"pick up" is spelled P-I-C-K- -U-P.
What does "pick up" mean?
As a verb, "pick up" means: To lift; to grasp and raise.
What language does "pick up" come from?
"pick up" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list