pick up the ball and run with it

A form of take the ball and run with it — To continue working on something that someone else started, especially when one does so efficiently and successfully.

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Meanings

verbpick up the ball and run with it (third-person singular simple present picks up the ball and runs with it, present participle picking up the ball and running with it, simple past picked up the ball and ran with it, past participle picked up the ball and run with it)

present singular third person picks up the ball and runs with it · participle present picking up the ball and running with it · past picked up the ball and ran with it · participle past picked up the ball and run with it

  1. alternativeAlternative form of take the ball and run with it.
Cite this entry
APA

pick up the ball and run with it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20up%20the%20ball%20and%20run%20with%20it

MLA

“pick up the ball and run with it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20up%20the%20ball%20and%20run%20with%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pick up the ball and run with it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pick%20up%20the%20ball%20and%20run%20with%20it.

Source: pick up the ball and run with it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.