to pick up on
142
3.9
- phrasal verb
- /pɪk ʌp ɒn/
:
captar
- The hostility in your voice affects animals, and the dog picks up on it.
- pick up on a theme
- pick up on differences
So I think he picked up on that and that.
- So I think he picked up on that and that.
- You see, they're not picking up on social cues, right?
- And for you guys to pick up on that is, is your gift.
- Only people who don't know or care about the history pick up on the word.
- So his ideas weren't really picked up on at the time.
- One man, even Kyle, picks up on Sam's dad being a bit suspicious.
- My job is to pick up on that forward momentum in my life.
- A Virgo is your moon and I need to pick up on the energy that could be.
Examples
-
Lecter picked up on something in the missing part of the note.
-
And when you're young, you pick up on things so much faster, you know?
-
Let me just pick up on what David said about Ireland.
-
The kids pick up on this stuff and witness this stuff.
-
How come nobody else picked up on him?
-
The younger children seemed to pick up on the motor skill activities quickly.
Academic text (2004) -
So yeah, they do pick up on that, that's for sure.
-
Local neighbors, too, seem to be picking up on the environmental doctrine.
Academic text (2006) -
So hopefully this will pick up on the effects of radiation and fallout.
-
She was quick to pick up on the subtle changes in his behavior after the argument.
Synonyms
∞
1.8
To look at signs or actions and understand what they mean
∞
2.6
To learn or notice something often by chance
877
1.1
To understand something after someone explains it
763
3.2
Find something that is hard to notice
629
4.2
To notice something by feeling or by using a tool
474
2.1
To notice something quickly with the senses or mind
70
5.8
To notice something that is hard to see or hear
64
3.0
Notice a sound or sight among other things
42
3.5
To see and pay attention to something
37
3.9
To begin to understand something after a while
25
7.8
Start to understand what is happening or what to do
11
3.0
Hear and understand what someone says when it is hard to hear
9
4.3
To understand the meaning of something
7
5.4
Hear about something from other people before official news
4
4.9
To begin to understand an idea after not getting it at first
1
7.2
To understand something in a casual way
1
6.9
Find something after careful searching
1
7.5
Start to understand something after not understanding it
1
8.9
To suddenly understand something you did not notice before
Begin to understand something you missed before
Antonyms
How Perceptive
Surface Forms
Morphology
pick + up + on
The meaning 'to notice or detect' is metaphorically related to 'pick up' as in 'acquire' or 'perceive' (e.g. pick up a signal), so a learner who knows 'pick' and 'up' can often infer the sense. However, the particle 'on' and the specific nuance of noticing something subtle is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure helps.
Etymology
Pick up on comes from the simple image of someone using pick up to lift a tiny clue and bring it into view. So, to pick up on something means to 'notice' or 'understand' a small, not obvious detail.