pick sb/sth up
phrasal verb.phrasal verb. To go somewhere to get a person or thing, or to lift something from a surface.
phrasal verb. A separable phrasal verb with two primary meanings: 1) to collect a person or thing from a location, and 2) to lift an object from a lower position.
Can you pick me up after work?
She bent down to pick up the keys she had dropped on the floor.
The satellite is scheduled to pick up faint signals from the distant galaxy as it passes through the designated orbital path.
This phrasal verb is separable, so you can say 'pick the kids up' or 'pick up the kids'.
Emphasize that when the object is a pronoun (it, them, me), it must go between 'pick' and 'up', as in 'pick it up'.
I need to pick up them from school.I need to pick them up from school.A pronoun object like 'them' must be placed between the verb 'pick' and the particle 'up'.
Last updated April 24, 2026