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to pick up on
01
to notice something that is not immediately obvious
Transitive: to pick up on a situation
Grammatical Information
Action verb
Regular
Inseparable
Present tense
pick up on
3rd person singular
picks up on
Past simple
picked up on
Past participle
picked up on
Examples
As a skilled detective, he could pick up on subtle behavioral cues that indicated when someone was lying.
02
to express disapproval or correct someone's statement
Transitive: to pick up on an error or remark
Examples
In the debate, he misquoted a statistic, but his opponent immediately picked up on it and corrected him.
03
to refer to or comment on a topic or point that was mentioned earlier in a conversation
Transitive: to pick up on a topic or point
Examples
Earlier in our chat, you brought up a new book you were reading. I wanted to pick up on that and ask for the title.
