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pickup

Syllabification: (pick·up)
Pronunciation: /ˈpikˌəp/
Translate pickup | into German
Definition of pickup

noun

  • 1 (also pickup truck) a small truck with an enclosed cab and open back.
  • 2an act of collecting a person or goods, especially in a vehicle:curbside pickup [as modifier]:travel by bus from your local pickup point to your hotel
  • 3the reception of signals, especially interference or noise, by electrical apparatus.
  • 4 informal a casual encounter with someone, with a view to having sexual intercourse.
  • a person encountered with a view to having sexual intercourse.
  • 5an improvement in an economic indicator:signs of a pickup in demand
  • 6a device that produces an electrical signal in response to some other kind of signal or change, in particular.
  • the cartridge of a record player, carrying the stylus.
  • a device on a musical instrument, particularly an electric guitar, that converts string vibrations into electrical signals for amplification.
  • 7 Music a series of introductory notes leading into the opening part of a tune.
  • 8 Fishing a semicircular loop of metal for guiding the line back onto the spool as it is reeled in.

adjective

North American informal
  • informal and spontaneous:six players had started a full-court pickup basketball game

pickup in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of pickup in the British & World English dictionary
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