Word.ws English Dictionary

picked up

picked up is the simple past and past participle of pick up.

Meaning of pick up

Verb

pick up (third-person singular simple present picks up, present participle picking up, simple past and past participle picked up)

  1. (transitive) To lift; to grasp and raise.
    • When you pick up the bag, make sure to support the bottom.
    Antonyms:
    put down
  2. (transitive) To collect or purchase an object, especially in passing.
    • Can you pick up a pint of milk on your way home?
    Antonyms:
    drop off
  3. (transitive) To acquire (something) accidentally; to catch or contract (a disease).
    • I picked up a cold on my trip last week.
    1. (transitive) To be caught or accused of wrongdoing, usually criminal charges.
      • He picked up a parole violation last month.
  4. (intransitive, transitive) To clean up; to return to an organized state.
    • You made a mess, aren't you going to pick up after yourself?
    Antonyms:
    mess up
  5. (transitive) To collect a passenger.
    • I'll pick you up outside the library.
    Antonyms:
    drop off

See all 25 meanings of pick up

Questions about picked up

What is picked up the simple past and past participle of?
Picked up is the simple past and past participle of pick up.

Words near picked up in the dictionary

  1. picked quarrels
  2. picked sides
  3. picked someone's brain
  4. picked the wrong horse
  5. picked through
  6. picked up
  7. picked up on
  8. picked up one's crumbs
  9. picked up one's marbles and gone home
  10. picked up one's marbles and went home
  11. picked up steam

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: picked up (page history and authors); pick up (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “picked up.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/picked_up. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.