View synonyms for

pickup

[ pik-uhp ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an improvement, as in health, business conditions, work, production, etc.
Informal. pick-me-up.
Informal. a casual, usually unintroduced acquaintance, often one made in hope of a sexual relationship.
an instance of stopping for or taking aboard passengers or freight, as by a train, ship, taxicab, etc., especially an instance of taking freight or a shipment of goods onto a truck.
the person, freight, or shipment so taken aboard:
The cab driver had a pickup at the airport who wanted to be driven to the docks.
Automotive.
1. capacity for rapid acceleration.
2. acceleration; increase in speed.
3. Also called pickup truck. a small truck with a low-sided open body, used for deliveries and light hauling.
Baseball. the act of fielding a ball after it hits the ground.
Also called cartridge. a small device attached to the end of a phonograph tone arm that contains a stylus and the mechanism that translates the movement of the stylus in a record groove into a changing electrical voltage.
Radio.
1. the act of receiving sound waves in the transmitting set in order to change them into electrical waves.
2. a receiving or recording device.
3. the place from which a broadcast is being transmitted.
4. interference ( def 4 ).
Television.
1. the change of light energy into electrical energy in a television camera.
2. camera tube.
3. a telecast made directly from the scene of an action.
a hitchhiker.
Metalworking. (in the cold-drawing of metal) the adhesion of particles of the metal to the die or plug.

adjective

composed of or employing whatever persons are available on a more or less impromptu basis:
a pickup game of baseball; a pickup dance band.
using whatever ingredients are handy or available:
a Sunday night pickup supper.

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of pickup¹

First recorded in 1855–60; noun use of verb phrase pick up

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Another 159 layoffs are planned at the Bureau of Sanitation, which handles trash pickup and the removal of “bulky items” like mattresses and couches from the curb.

From

One night, a “government guy” rode around Prather Ranch in his pickup with a spotlight, and the wolves still “tore into two cows that I had to put down,” Torres said.

From

Hotplate is a software-as-a-service company that automates scheduling, order flow and pickup of food in exchange for a percentage of the seller’s sales.

From

The weight taken out of the Palisades, alone, is equal to a row of Ford F-150 pickups, lined up end-to-end and stretching from Los Angeles past Salt Lake City, said Col.

From

“Everyone is very on the edge trying to see what to do,” said Nguyen, who imported pickup truck parts from China until Trump’s 2019 tariffs helped sink his company.

From

Related Words

acceleration

pick to pieces pick up

Browse