pick up the phone

English

In stationary telephones, the handset (top) would, when not in use, be placed in a specific place, weighing down a switch; the act of physically picking it up opened communications, and putting it back in place would terminate the call.

Verb

pick up the phone (third-person singular simple present picks up the phone, present participle picking up the phone, simple past and past participle picked up the phone)

1. To pick up the receiver of a telephone, generally with the intention of making a phone call.
2. To answer an incoming telephone call.

Synonyms

• pick the phone up, pick up the telephone, pick up
• (answer a call): answer the phone, answer

Antonyms

• hang up the phone, hang the phone up, hang up

Translations

to pick up the receiver of a telephone to answer a call

• Arabic: رَفَعَ السَّمَّاعَة (rafaʕa as-sammāʕa)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 接電話／接电话 (zip³ din⁶ waa^6-2), 聽電話／听电话 (teng¹ din⁶ waa^6-2)

  Mandarin: 拿起電話／拿起电话 (náqǐ diànhuà), 接電話／接电话 (jiē diànhuà)

• Finnish: vastata puhelimeen
• French: décrocher (fr)
• German: den Hörer abnehmen, abheben (de), abnehmen (de)
• Japanese: 電話に出る (でんわにでる, denwa ni deru), 受話器を取る (じゅわきをとる, juwaki o toru)
• Korean: 전화를 받다 (jeonhwa-reul batda), 전화를 들다 (jeonhwa-reul deulda)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ta telefonen

• Polish: odbierać telefon (pl) impf, odebrać telefon pf
• Portuguese: atender (o telefone)
• Russian: брать тру́бку impf (bratʹ trúbku), взять тру́бку pf (vzjatʹ trúbku)
• Spanish: contestar el teléfono
• Swedish: svara i telefonen