"pick up the tab" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "picks up the tab",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picking up the tab",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picked up the tab",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picked up the tab",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "pick up the tab"
      },
      "expansion": "pick up the tab (third-person singular simple present picks up the tab, present participle picking up the tab, simple past and past participle picked up the tab)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2014 January 30, Seth Kugel, “Wintertime Bargains in Budapest”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "When the bill came to just 33,000 forints, I did something very out of character: I picked up the tab. It blew the budget for the day, but felt great.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 March 25, Philip Haigh, “Analysis: Where the money comes from... and where it goes”, in Rail, page 34:",
          "text": "Meanwhile, the taxpayer picked up the tab for over 50% of track and train costs at Northern, Merseyrail and the Transport for Wales rail operation.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To accept a bill and pay it, especially at a bar or restaurant."
      ],
      "id": "en-pick_up_the_tab-en-verb-RejKwImL",
      "links": [
        [
          "accept",
          "accept"
        ],
        [
          "bill",
          "bill"
        ],
        [
          "pay",
          "pay"
        ],
        [
          "bar",
          "bar"
        ],
        [
          "restaurant",
          "restaurant"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic, chiefly US) To accept a bill and pay it, especially at a bar or restaurant."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-pick up the tab.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/42/En-au-pick_up_the_tab.ogg/En-au-pick_up_the_tab.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/En-au-pick_up_the_tab.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pick up the tab"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "picks up the tab",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picking up the tab",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picked up the tab",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "picked up the tab",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "pick up the tab"
      },
      "expansion": "pick up the tab (third-person singular simple present picks up the tab, present participle picking up the tab, simple past and past participle picked up the tab)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2014 January 30, Seth Kugel, “Wintertime Bargains in Budapest”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "When the bill came to just 33,000 forints, I did something very out of character: I picked up the tab. It blew the budget for the day, but felt great.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 March 25, Philip Haigh, “Analysis: Where the money comes from... and where it goes”, in Rail, page 34:",
          "text": "Meanwhile, the taxpayer picked up the tab for over 50% of track and train costs at Northern, Merseyrail and the Transport for Wales rail operation.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To accept a bill and pay it, especially at a bar or restaurant."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "accept",
          "accept"
        ],
        [
          "bill",
          "bill"
        ],
        [
          "pay",
          "pay"
        ],
        [
          "bar",
          "bar"
        ],
        [
          "restaurant",
          "restaurant"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic, chiefly US) To accept a bill and pay it, especially at a bar or restaurant."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-pick up the tab.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/42/En-au-pick_up_the_tab.ogg/En-au-pick_up_the_tab.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/En-au-pick_up_the_tab.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pick up the tab"
}