Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pick it up

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.05 in modern English

Syllables
pick- it up
IPA
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To hurry up, pick up the pace.

Etymology

Its exact orignal is unknown, but possibly comes from the practice of scatting and toasting in Jamaican ska music. The first recorded use of the term comes from The Employees's 1980 song "Pick it Up". The related Jamaican phrase "You pick him up, you lick him dung" is recorded as early as 1966 in Prince Buster's song "Hard Man Fe Dead".

Inflected Forms

picks it up (present, singular) picking it up (participle, present) picked it up (participle, past) picked it up (past)

Questions

What does pick it up mean?
To hurry up, pick up the pace.
Where does pick it up come from?
Its exact orignal is unknown, but possibly comes from the practice of scatting and toasting in Jamaican ska music. The first recorded use of the term comes from The Employees's 1980 song "Pick it Up". The related Jamaican phrase "You pick him up, you lick him dung" is recorded as early as 1966 in Prince Buster's song "Hard Man Fe Dead".

How to pronounce pick it up

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pick it up”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pick it up”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “pick it up” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.