take
verbEtymology
From Middle English taken (“to take, lay hold of, grasp, strike”), from Old English tacan (“to grasp, touch”), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse taka (“to touch, take”), from Proto-Germanic *tēkaną (“to touch”), from pre-Germanic *deh₁g- (“to touch”), possibly a phonetically altered form of Proto-Indo-European *te-th₂g- (“to touch, take”) (see there for details). Gradually displaced native English nim, from Middle English nimen, from Old English niman (“to take”). Cognates Cognate with Scots tak (“to take”), Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk taka (“to take”), Norwegian Bokmål ta (“to take”), Swedish ta (“to take”), Danish tage (“to take, seize”), West Frisian take, taakje (“to grab, steal”), Dutch taken (“to take; grasp”), Middle Low German tacken (“to grasp”). English thack may be from the same root. Compare tackle. Despite superficial similarity, unrelated to Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to take by hand, obtain”), which is instead cognate with English thig (“to beg”).
Definitions
To get into one's hands, possession, or control, with or without force.
- They took Charlton's gun from his cold, dead hands.
- I'll take that plate off the table.
To receive or accept (something, especially something which was given).
- took third place
- took bribes
- The camera takes 35mm film.
To remove.
- take two eggs from the carton
- And therefore, according to the tenor of ſuch a covenant, he has made no proviſion to ſecure his people in any ſuch temporalties, but took from them all right of war and reſiſtance.
- Nor can the Wooll be work'd, or made up, without being firſt greaſed or oiled: All which unctuous Matter muſt be taken forth again out of the Cloth before it can be worn.
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To have sex with.
- I wonder what it would feel like to take two cocks at the same time.
To defeat (someone or something) in a fight.
- Don't try to take that guy. He's bigger than you.
- The woman guarding us looks like a professional, but I can take her!
- "I'll stop 'em'" cried Quilp, diving into the little counting-house and returning with a thick stick, "I'll stop 'em. Now my boys fight away. I'll fight you both, I'll take both of you, both together, both together!"
To grasp or grip.
- He took her hand in his.
- The young females ſeeing him approach in ſuch haste; and according to cuſtom, expecting a dance; inſtantly aſſembled in a circle, and took each other by the hand: but Gulchenrouz, coming up out of breath, fell down, at once, on the graſs.
- She sat half upright, supported on Henrietta's shoulder; and, taking her father's hand, she clasped it with her husband's.
To select or choose
To select or choose; to pick.
- Take whichever bag you like.
- She took the best men with her and left the rest to garrison the city.
- I'll take the blue plates.
To carry or lead (something or someone).
- She took her sword with her everywhere she went.
- I'll take the plate with me.
- Perſonal offence I have given them none. The part they take againſt me is from zeal to the cauſe. It is well! It is perfectly well! I have to do homage to their juſtice.
To use as a means of transportation.
- take the ferry
- I took a plane.
- He took the bus to London, and then took a train to Manchester.
To obtain for use by payment or lease.
- She took a condo at the beach for the summer.
- He took a full-page ad in the Times.
To receive (medicine or drugs) into one's body, e.g. by inhalation or swallowing
To receive (medicine or drugs) into one's body, e.g. by inhalation or swallowing; to ingest.
- take two of these and call me in the morning
- take the blue pill
- I take aspirin every day to thin my blood.
To consume (food or drink).
- The general took dinner at seven o'clock.
- He was conscious that other officers tried to avoid eating at the same time, and everyone was gready relieved when he stopped coming there altogether and began taking his meals in his trailer.
To undergo
To undergo; to put oneself into, to be subjected to.
- take sun-baths
- take a shower
- She made the decision to take chemotherapy.
To experience or feel.
- She takes pride in her work.
- I take offence at that.
- to take a dislike
To submit to
To submit to; to endure (without ill humor, resentment, or physical failure).
- took a pay cut
- take a joke
- If you're in an abusive relationship, don't just sit and take it; you can get help.
To suffer
To suffer; to endure (a hardship or damage).
- The ship took a direct hit and was destroyed.
- Her career took a hit.
To participate in.
- She took a vacation to France but spent the whole time feeling miserable that her husband couldn't be there with her.
- Aren't you supposed to take your math final today?
- Despite my misgivings, I decided to take a meeting with the Russian lawyer.
To cause to change to a specified state or condition.
- He had to take it apart to fix it.
- She took down her opponent in two minutes.
- In 1961, they lined up a lawyer and an underwriter to take the company public. And they retained an accounting firm to produce audited financial statements.
To regard in a specified way.
- He took the news badly.
- Not unnaturally, "Auntie" took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago.
To conclude or form (a decision or an opinion) in the mind.
- took the decision to close its last remaining outlet
- took a dim view of city officials
To understand (especially in a specified way).
- Don't take my comments as an insult.
- if she took my meaning
To believe, to accept the statements of.
- take her word for it
- take him at his word
- Ax. Oh! name the mighty Ranſom, task my Power, / Let there be Danger, Difficulty, Death, / T' enhance the Price. / Baj. I take thee at thy word, / Bring me the Tartar’s Head.
To assume or suppose
To assume or suppose; to reckon; to regard or consider.
- I took him to be a person of honor.
- He was often taken to be a man of means.
- Do you take me for a fool?
To draw, derive, or deduce (a meaning from something).
- take it from her comments she won't be there.
- I'm not sure what moral to take from that story.
To derive (as a title)
To derive (as a title); to obtain from a source.
- "As I Lay Dying" takes its title from Book XI of Homer's "Odyssey"
- The benign or milder Species takes its Originall from a bilious hot ſerum: the other is commonly ſaid to proceed from Aduſtion in the Bloud, with a mixture of Choler or ſalt Phlegm.
To catch or contract (an illness, etc.).
- took a chill
- to take cold
To come upon or catch (in a particular state or situation).
To captivate or charm
To captivate or charm; to gain or secure the interest or affection of.
- took her fancy
- took her attention
- I know not why, but there was a something in those half-seen features,—a charm in the very shadow that hung over their imagined beauty,—which took my fancy more than all the out-shining loveliness of her companions.
To absorb or be impregnated by (dye, ink, etc.)
To absorb or be impregnated by (dye, ink, etc.); to be susceptible to being treated by (polish, etc.).
- cloth that takes dye well
- The flu shot didn't take (on me).
- the leather that takes a certain kind of polish
To let in (water).
- The British brought the ship into Haifa harbor. The ship was taking seawater in 4 places, and the passengers had been without fresh water for the last few days of their voyage, with several ill from drinking seawater.
To require (a person, resource or thing in order to achieve an outcome).
- Looks like it's gonna take a taller person to get that down.
- Finishing this on schedule will take a lot of overtime.
To proceed to fill.
- He took a seat in the front row.
To fill, occupy, require, or use up (space).
- His collection takes a lot of space.
To fill or require
To fill or require: to last or expend (an amount of time).
- Unloading the moving truck took us half a day, but this mess of a house will take us all weekend to tidy up. It takes ages to finish house moving!
- Hunting that whale takes most of his free time.
- The trip will take about ten minutes.
To avail oneself of
To avail oneself of; to exploit.
- He took that opportunity to leave France.
- When that happened, he almost gave up the idea of asking what he had come to ask. But then the opportunity arose, and he took it, then waited breathlessly for her answer.
- He took the pause to allow himself time to begin to catalog all the surfaces he may have touched during the scuffle.
To practice
To practice; perform; execute; carry out; do.
- take a walk
- take action/steps/measures to fight drug abuse
- take a trip
To assume or perform (a form or role).
- took the form of a duck
- took shape
- a god taking the likeness of a bird
To bind oneself by.
- he took the oath of office last night
To go into, through, or along.
- go down two blocks and take the next left
- take the path of least resistance
- Theſ. This way the Stag tooke.
To have and use one's recourse to.
- take cover/shelter/refuge
To ascertain or determine by measurement, examination or inquiry.
- take her pulse / temperature / blood pressure
- take a census
To write down
To write down; to get in, or as if in, writing.
- He took a mental inventory of his supplies.
- She took careful notes.
To make (a photograph, film, or other reproduction of something).
- She took a video of their encounter.
- Could you take a picture of us?
- The police took his fingerprints.
To make a picture, photograph, etc. of (a person, scene, etc.).
- The photographer will take you sitting down.
- to take a group/scene
To obtain money from, especially by swindling.
- took me for ten grand
To apply oneself to the study of.
- As a child, she took ballet.
- Next semester, I plan to take math, physics, literature, and art history.
To deal with.
- take matters as they arise
To consider in a particular way, or to consider as an example.
- I've had a lot of problems recently: take last Monday, for example. My car broke down on the way to work. Then […] etc.
To decline to swing at (a pitched ball)
To decline to swing at (a pitched ball); to refrain from hitting at, and allow to pass.
- He'll probably take this one.
To accept as an input to a relation.
- This verb takes the dative; that verb takes the genitive.
To buy.
- take a ticket
To get or accept (something) into one's possession.
- My husband and I have a dysfunctional marriage. He just takes and takes; he never gives.
To engage, take hold or have effect.
- And ſo likewiſe Flame percuſſing the Aire ſtrongly, (as when Flame ſuddenly taketh, and openeth,) giueth a Noiſe; So, Great Flames, whiles the one implelleth the other, giue a bellowing Sound.
To become
To become; to be affected in a specified way.
- They took ill within 3 hours.
- She took sick with the flu.
To be able to be accurately or beautifully photographed.
- 'Photographs never do give anything but a pale imitation, you know, but the likenesses, as likenesses, are good. She "takes well" as they say, and those were done lately.'
An intensifier.
To deliver, bring, give (something) to (someone).
- Jeſus perceaved there wylynes ãd ſayde: Why tempte ye me ye ypocrytes: lett me ſe the tribute money. And they toke hym a peny.
To give or deliver (a blow, to someone)
To give or deliver (a blow, to someone); to strike or hit.
- He took me a blow on the head.
To visit
To visit; to include in a course of travel.
- But it seems that he did not attend to this circumstance at present; for in May, he set out again for Epworth, and took Manchester in his way, to see his friend Mr. Clayton, who had now left Oxford.
To portray in a painting.
- Beauty alone could beauty take ſo right: / Her dreſs, her ſhape, her matchleſs grace, / Were all obferv'd, as well as heavenly face.
Used in phrasal verbs
Used in phrasal verbs: take in, take off, take on, take out, take to, take something to, take up.
The or an act of taking.
- The 1994 Amendments address the incidental take of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing, not the direct lethal take of pinnipeds for management purposes.
- 'I saw you in Norfolk doing twenty-odd takes with that fisherman chap and it looked perfect in the rushes.'
Something that is taken
Something that is taken; a haul.
- Why would anyone go along with such things? Money is still the main answer: Almost all prominent climate deniers are on the fossil-fuel take.
- He wants half of the take if he helps with the job.
- The mayor is on the take.
An interpretation or view, opinion or assessment
An interpretation or view, opinion or assessment; perspective; a statement expressing such a position.
- What's your take on this issue, Fred?
- Another unsolicited maths take: talking about quotients in terms of "equivalence classes" or cosets is really unnatural.
- Should you crave a fix of my take on tech culture, get the urge to build a 3-D home cinema or want the skivvy on the latest internet memes or robo-romances, you can keep a close eye on me via Twitter or drop me a line at my new digs.
An approach, a (distinct) treatment.
- a new take on a traditional dish
- Whatever the provenance, the result is a delightfully novel take on a stalwart, often deadening Victorian feature.
- The League of Gentlemen was all set in one town; The Fast Show did what it said on the tin, the sketches came thick and fast; Goodness Gracious Me was a brilliant take on British Asian culture.
A scene recorded (filmed) at one time, without an interruption or break
A scene recorded (filmed) at one time, without an interruption or break; a recording of such a scene.
- It's a take.
- Act seven, scene three, take two.
A recording of a musical performance made during an uninterrupted single recording period.
A visible (facial) response to something, especially something unexpected
A visible (facial) response to something, especially something unexpected; a facial gesture in response to an event.
- did a double take and then a triple take
- I did a take when I saw the new car in the driveway.
- "When our client mentioned Dr. Chesterton, you did a take that was perceptible to one with my trained eye. Know the gent, amigo?"
An instance of successful inoculation/vaccination.
A catch of the ball (in cricket, especially one by the wicket-keeper).
The quantity of copy given to a compositor at one time.
The neighborhood
- synonymappropriate
- synonymbag
- synonymannex
- synonymcatch
- synonymexpropriate
- synonymgrab
- synonymgrasp
- synonymgrip
- synonymhelp oneself
- synonymhook
- synonymimpropriate
- synonymmake free with
- antonymgive
- antonymreturn
- neighbortaker
- neighbortaking
- neighborreceive
- neighborarrogate
- neighborcapture
- neighborcommandeer
- neighborconfiscate
- neighbordeprive
- neighborharvest
- neighborreharvest
- neighborsnatch
- neighborsteal
Derived
are you taking any medications, betake, be taken bad, be taken ill, be taken sick, caretake, care-taking, entertake, foretake, fortake, for the taking, get taken in, have drink taken, have one's name taken, leave-taking, like taking candy from a baby, lunatics have taken over the asylum, mistake, notetake, note-taking, numbertaker, offtake, ontake, out-take, overtake, partake, piss-taking, point taken, prize-taking, profit taking, profit-taking, put and take, put-and-take, risk-taking, take aback, take a bath, take a beat, take a Bex, take a bite, takeable · +225 more
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for take. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA