Pick up figure in lift (7)

I believe the answer is:

hearten

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'pick up' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'figure in lift' is the wordplay.
'figure' becomes 'heart' (heart is a kind of figure).
'in lift' becomes 'en' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'heart'+'en'='HEARTEN'

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(Other definitions for hearten that I've seen before include "Comfort" , "Encourage or cheer in cardiac manner" , "Inspirit" , "Make cheerful" , "Make (someone) more confident" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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