pickup

/ˌpɪkˈʌp/

/ˈpɪkəp/

Other forms: pickups

A pickup is a truck with an open bed, perfect for helping a friend move into a new apartment. It's also the act of picking something up — so you might make the furniture pickup in your pickup.

The meanings of pickup include takeout: "I ordered the pad Thai for pickup." It also means "acceleration," like your dad's speedy car with amazing pickup or the pickup in sales at your lemonade stand on a hot day. And in sports a pickup game is impromptu and casual. As for a light truck with a closed cab, pickup is short for pickup truck, named after how handy it is for picking things up and delivering them.

Definitions of pickup

1. noun

   the act or process of picking up or collecting from various places
   “garbage pickup is on Mondays and Thursdays”

   types:

   garbage collection, garbage pickup, trash collection, trash pickup

   the collection and removal of garbage

   type of:

   aggregation, assembling, collecting, collection

   the act of gathering something together
2. noun

   the act of taking aboard passengers or freight
   type of:

   acquiring, getting

   the act of acquiring something
3. noun

   the attribute of being capable of rapid acceleration
   “his car has a lot of pickup”

   synonyms: getaway

   type of:

   acceleration

   an increase in rate of change
4. noun

   a casual acquaintance; often made in hope of sexual relationships
   type of:

   acquaintance, friend

   a person with whom you are acquainted
5. noun

   anything with restorative powers
   “she needed the pickup that coffee always gave her”

   synonyms: pick-me-up

   type of:

   corrective, restorative

   a device for treating injury or disease
6. noun

   a warrant to take someone into custody
   “put out a pickup on that man”

   type of:

   arrest warrant, bench warrant

   a warrant authorizing law enforcement officials to apprehend an offender and bring that person to court
7. noun

   a light truck with an open body and low sides and a tailboard
   synonyms: pickup truck

   types:

   technical

   a pickup truck with a gun mounted on it

   type of:

   motortruck, truck

   an automotive vehicle suitable for hauling
8. noun

   mechanical device consisting of a light balanced arm that carries the cartridge
   synonyms: pickup arm, tone arm

   type of:

   mechanical device

   mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles
9. noun

   an electro-acoustic transducer that is the part of the arm of a record player that holds the needle and that is removable
   synonyms: cartridge

   types:

   crystal pickup

   a cartridge in which an output voltage is produced by the vibration of a piezoelectric crystal

   type of:

   electro-acoustic transducer

   a transducer that converts electrical to acoustic energy or vice versa