Meaning trap
pick up
acquire illness or habit
To get an illness or habit, often by accident or without trying.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To get an illness or habit, often by accident or without trying.
Another meaning of 'pick up' is 'collect'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
He picked up a cold during his trip to London.
People can easily pick up bad habits if they spend time with the wrong crowd.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: I picked up a new language to boost my career.
Say: I learned a new language to boost my career.
This sense is accidental and negative. Deliberate, goal-driven gain is 'learn', not this 'pick up'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Contracted' is medical/formal. In everyday speech natives 'pick up' colds, bugs and habits — by chance, usually unwanted.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
pick up + illness/habit
- a cold
- a bug
- a bad habit
- an accent
Don't confuse it
Related
Other meanings and phrases to compare.
- pick up (collect) — Another meaning of 'pick up' is 'collect'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.