Pick up
To flirt or try to attract someone
pick someone up at a bar
try to pick her up
picked up a girl/guy
pickup line (adjective, but same meaning)
got picked up at the club
He tried to pick up a woman at the bar. ✅ (Correct)
He tried to pick a woman up at the bar. ✅ (Correct)
To buy quickly or without a lot of planning
pick up some groceries
pick up a coffee
pick up snacks
pick up a few things
pick something up at the store
I picked up some snacks on the way home. ✅ (Correct)
I picked some snacks up on the way home. ✅ (Correct)
To catch an illness
pick up a cold
pick up the flu
pick up a virus
pick up an infection
probably picked something up
He picked up a cold at school. ✅ (Correct)
He picked a cold up at school. ✅ (Correct)
To continue after a break
pick up where we left off
pick the story up again
pick up the conversation
pick up after lunch
let’s pick up tomorrow
Let’s pick up the discussion tomorrow. ✅ (Correct)
Let’s pick the discussion up tomorrow. ✅ (Correct)
To improve or increase
business picked up
sales picked up
traffic picked up
speed picked up
things started to pick up
Business picked up in the summer. ✅ (Correct).
Business picked the summer up. ❌ (Incorrect)
To learn something casually
pick up a language
pick up new skills
pick up English naturally
pick up information
quickly pick things up
She picked up some Spanish in Mexico. ✅ (Correct)
She picked some Spanish up in Mexico. ✅ (Correct)
To collect someone in a vehicle
pick someone up from school
pick me up at the airport
pick up the kids
pick her up after work
come pick me up
I picked up my friend. ✅ (Correct)
I picked my friend up. ✅ (Correct)
To lift something from a surface
pick up the phone
pick up the book
pick up your clothes
pick up the keys
bend down and pick it up
She picked up the bag. ✅ (Correct)
She picked the bag up. ✅ (Correct)