take up

Definitions

1. 1

   Alternative form of take-up.

2. 2

   To lift

   To lift; to raise.

   • I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
   • Alice took up the fan and gloves, and, as the hall was very hot, she kept fanning herself all the time she went on talking: […]
3. 3

   To occupy

   To occupy; to consume (space or time).

   • The books on finance take up three shelves.
   • All my time is taken up with looking after the kids.
   • She is popular with passengers as an all-weather vessel, but rather the reverse with yachtsmen as she has at times proved somewhat unwieldy, and certainly takes up a good deal of space in the narrow channels.
4. ›+ 5 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To take, to assume (one’s appointed or intended place).

      • She took up her post at the foot of the stairs.
   2. 5

      To set about doing or dealing with (something).

      • I’ve taken up knitting.
      • I wish to take up mathematics.
      • He became so studious that he gave up any semblance of a social life, and had taken up the use of strong alcohol and Valium.
   3. 6

      To arrest (a person).

      • The police took up the suspect.
   4. 7

      To reprove or reproach (a person).

   5. 8

      To begin to support or patronize, to sponsor (a person), to adopt as protégé.

The neighborhood