What does "pick-me-up" mean?

A drink, often an alcoholic one, taken as a stimulant or sometimes as a hangover cure; a restorative, tonic or bracer.

What is a synonym for "pick-me-up"?

Common synonyms include: bracer, cordial, exhilaration, hair of the dog, liquor, pickup.

noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Noun

1
A drink, often an alcoholic one, taken as a stimulant or sometimes as a hangover cure; a restorative, tonic or bracer. informal
"Strong tea is just the pick-me-up that I need right now."
2
a tonic or restorative (especially a drink of liquor) wordnet
3
Something that improves one's mood.
"A trip into town for lunch with my friend was a nice pick-me-up today."
4
anything with restorative powers wordnet

"Strong tea is just the pick-me-up that I need right now."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.