To pick up or gather things (by hand) that are lying around or scattered.
公園で財布を拾った。
I picked up a wallet in the park.
子どもたちが落ち葉を拾って袋に入れた。
The children gathered fallen leaves and put them in a bag.
床に落ちている紙くずを拾って捨ててください。
Please pick up the bits of paper on the floor and throw them away.
To find something someone has dropped and pick it up (i.e., recover a lost item).
駅で傘を落とした人がいたので、拾って交番に届けた。
Someone had dropped an umbrella at the station, so I picked it up and took it to the police box.
道で１００円玉を拾ったので、近くの店に落とし物として預けた。
I found a 100-yen coin on the street and handed it to a nearby shop as a lost-and-found item.
彼は誰かの忘れ物の財布を拾って、中を確認してから連絡した。
He found someone's forgotten wallet, checked inside, and then contacted them.
To select or pick out something from among options; to pick out important points from text or speech.
本棚から気に入った本をいくつか拾ってレジへ持って行った。
I picked out a few books I liked from the shelf and took them to the register.
インタビューの中から重要な発言を拾って記事にまとめた。
I picked out important remarks from the interview and summarized them in an article.
アンケートの回答から参考になりそうな意見を拾って会議で共有した。
I picked useful opinions from the survey responses and shared them in the meeting.
To get something unexpectedly (luck, opportunity, an unexpected victory); to snatch or luck into something.
相手チームのミスで試合の終盤に勝利を拾った。
Thanks to the other team's mistake, we managed to snatch a win toward the end of the match.
古い本の中から思いがけず良い情報を拾った。
I unexpectedly found good information in an old book.
彼は面接で運良く内定を拾うことができた。
He was lucky enough to land a job offer at the interview.
To pick someone up by car; to give someone a lift (colloquial).
渋滞のせいで友達を拾ってから家に帰るのに時間がかかった。
Because of the traffic jam, it took a long time to pick up my friend and get home.
駅まで彼女を拾いに行くよ。何時に着く？
I'll come pick her up at the station. What time does she arrive?
週末は車でお客さんを拾って空港へ向かった。
Over the weekend I picked up a client by car and headed to the airport.
To flag down/ hail a taxi or car (e.g., 'to get a taxi').
雨の中、外でタクシーを拾うのは大変だった。
It was hard to hail a taxi outside in the rain.
急いでいたので通りでタクシーを拾って空港へ向かった。
I was in a hurry so I hailed a taxi on the street and headed to the airport.
深夜だとタクシーを拾うのは難しいことがある。
At late hours it can be difficult to get a taxi.
To pick up signals, sounds, or interference (what a device receives or detects).
このマイクは小さな声でもよく拾ってくれる。
This microphone picks up even small voices well.
古いラジオは局をうまく拾えないことがある。
Old radios sometimes can't pick up stations well.
衛星アンテナが微弱な信号を拾った。
The satellite antenna picked up a weak signal.
In sports, to just manage to return or retrieve the ball (to get to a difficult ball).
彼はコートの端でギリギリのところでボールを拾った。
He barely got to the ball at the edge of the court.
相手の強いサーブを拾ってラリーを続けた。
He returned the opponent's powerful serve and continued the rally.
To take someone on in adverse circumstances; to employ; to take someone in or give a job; also used for taking in stray animals.
その会社は落ちこぼれの学生を拾って研修を行った。
The company took on underperforming students and trained them.
道で迷っていた猫を拾って家で飼い始めた。
I took in a stray cat I found on the street and started keeping it at home.
彼は何度も落ちぶれかけたが、昔の上司が拾ってくれて復活した。
He had several near-failures, but his former boss took him on and he recovered.
Used in older language or dialects to mean 'to walk' or 'to go on foot' — rare in modern Japanese.
古い文献では「拾う」が『歩く』の意味で使われていることがある。
In old writings, '拾う' is sometimes used to mean 'to walk'.