pick up
pɪk ʌp
The hand dips and lifts — pick up
The picture A hand goes down, closes on something, and lifts it up into its own space. Put down lowers what you hold to the ground; pick up raises what was on the ground.
Where the picture shows up in pick up
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lifting an object
Pick up that box and put it on the shelf.
pɪk ʌp ðæt bɑːks ənd pʊt ɪt ɑːn ðə ʃelf
Lift that box onto the shelf, please.
Knees bend, both hands close on the box on the floor and raise it to chest height
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lifting a person into the car
I'll pick you up at seven.
aɪl pɪk juː ʌp ət ˈsevn
I'll come and get you at seven.
A car stops beside someone waiting at the kerb and they climb up into it
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scooping something up on the way
Can you pick up some milk on the way?
kæn juː pɪk ʌp sʌm mɪlk ɑːn ðə weɪ
Could you buy some milk on your way back?
A hand lifts a carton off the shop shelf into the basket without breaking stride
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scooping up words you hear
She picked up Korean in six months.
ʃi pɪkt ʌp kəˈriːən ɪn sɪks mʌnθs
She learned Korean in six months.
Words are lifted one at a time out of the talk around her and pocketed
Not studied from a book — gathered off the floor of daily life.
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something sunk being lifted again
Business is picking up again.
ˈbɪznəs ɪz ˈpɪkɪŋ ʌp əˈɡen
Business is recovering.
A line that had dropped to the bottom of the chart is lifted upward again
All of it in one picture
Pick up is one scooping curve: down, close, lift. Scoop up a box and you are carrying it; scoop up a person and you are giving them a ride; scoop up milk on the way and you have bought it. Scoop words out of the air around you and you are learning a language; scoop up a trade that had sunk to the floor and business is recovering. The lift from low to high never changes.