take

take [tāk]

vt.

took, taken, taking [ME taken < OE tacan < ON taka < ? IE base * dēg-, to lay hold of]

I to get possession of by force or skill; seize, grasp, catch, capture, win, etc.

1. to get by conquering; capture; seize

2. to trap, snare, or catch (a bird, animal, or fish)

a) to win (a game, a trick at cards, etc.)

b) to capture (an opponent's piece in chess or checkers)

3. to get hold of; grasp or catch

4. to hit (a person) in or on some part

5. to affect; attack [taken with a fit]

6. to catch in some act, esp. a moral fault [taken in adultery]

7. to capture the fancy of; charm

II to get by action not involving force or skill; obtain, acquire, assume, etc.

1. to get into one's hand or hold; transfer to oneself

2. to eat, drink, swallow, etc. for nourishment or as medicine

3. to admit; let in [the bus takes 20 riders]

4. to get benefit from by exposure to (the air, sun, etc.)

5. to enter into a special relationship with [to take a wife]

6. to have sexual intercourse with

7. to buy [he took the first suit he tried on]

8. to rent, lease, or pay for so as to occupy or use [to take a cottage]

9. to get regularly by paying for [to take a daily newspaper]

10. to assume as a responsibility, task, etc. [to take a job]

11. to assume or adopt (a symbol of duty or office) [the president took the chair]

12. to obligate oneself by [to take a vow]

13. to join or associate oneself with (one party or side in a contest, disagreement, etc.)

14. to assume as if granted or due one [to take the blame, to take deductions]

15. Slang to cheat; trick

16. Gram. to have or admit of according to usage, nature, etc.; be used with in construction [a transitive verb takes an object]

III to get, adopt, use, etc. by selection or choice

1. to choose; select

2. to use or employ; resort to [to take a mop to the floor]

a) to travel by [to take a bus]

b) to set out on; follow [to take the old path]

3. to go to (a place) for shelter, safety, etc. [to take cover]

4. to deal with; consider [to take a matter seriously]

a) to occupy [take a chair]

b) to use up; consume [to take all day]

5. to require; demand; need: often used impersonally [it takes money; to take a size ten ]

☆ 6. Baseball to allow (a pitched ball) to pass without swinging one's bat

IV to get from a source

1. to derive, inherit, or draw (a name, quality, etc.) from something or someone specified

2. to extract, as for quotation; excerpt [to take a verse from the Bible]

3. to obtain or ascertain by observation, query, or experiment [to take a poll, to take one's temperature]

4. to study; specif., to be enrolled as a student in [to take an art course]

5. to write down; copy [take notes]

a) to make (a photograph, picture, etc.)

b) to draw, photograph, etc. a likeness of [take the scene in color]

6. to make an impression of [take his fingerprints]

V to get as offered or due; receive, accept, suffer, etc.

1. to win (a prize, reward, etc.)

2. to be the object of; undergo or endure [to take punishment]

3. to occupy oneself in; enjoy [take a nap]

4. to accept (something offered) [to take a bet, to take advice]

5. to have a specified reaction to [to take a joke in earnest]

6. to confront and get over, through, etc. [the horse took the jump]

7. to be affected by (a disease, etc.) [to take cold]

8. to absorb; become impregnated or treated with (a dye, polish, etc.)

VI to receive mentally

1.

a) to understand the remarks of (a person)

b) to comprehend the meaning of (words or remarks)

c) to understand or interpret in a specified way

2. to suppose; presume [he took her to be a teacher]

3. to have or feel (an emotion or mental state) [take pity, take notice]

4. to hold and act upon (an idea, point of view, etc.)

VII to make or complete by action

1. to do; perform (an act) [to take a walk]

2. to make or put forth (a resolution or objection) as the result of thought

3. Informal to aim and execute (a specified action) at an object [to take a jab at someone]

VIII to move, remove, etc.

1. to be the way or means of going to (a place, condition, etc.); conduct; lead [the path takes you to the river]

2. to escort or accompany [to take a friend to dinner]

3. to carry or transport [to take a book with one]

4. to remove from a person, thing, or place; specif., to steal

5. to remove by death; bring to an end [cancer takes many lives]

6. to subtract [to take two from ten]

7. to direct or move (oneself)

vi.

1. to get possession

2. to hook or engage with another part: said of a mechanical device

3. to take root; begin growing: said of a plant

4. to lay hold; catch [the fire took rapidly]

5. to gain public favor; be popular

6. to be effective in action, operation, desired result, etc. [the vaccination took; the dye takes well]

7. to remove a part; detract (from) [nothing took from the scene's beauty]

8. to be made or adapted to be taken (up, down, apart, etc.)

9. [Informal or Dial.] to become (ill or sick)

10. Informal to be photographed in a specified way [she takes well in profile]

11. Law to take possession of property

n.

1. the act or process of taking

2. something that has been taken

3.

a) the amount or quantity of something taken [the day's take of fish]

b) Slang money received; receipts or profit

4. a vaccination that takes

5. Film

a) an uninterrupted shot photographed by a camera

b) the process of photographing such a shot

6.

a) any of a series of recordings or tapes of a performance, from which one will be made for release to the public

b) the process of so recording

7. Informal opinion; evaluation; assessment: followed by on [what's your take on the new tax?]

8. Printing the amount of copy sent to the compositor at one time

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☆ on the take

Slang willing or seeking to take bribes or illicit income

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take after

1. to be, act, or look like

2. to run after or pursue: also take out (or off) after

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☆ take a meeting

Slang to attend a business conference

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take amiss

1. Archaic to be wrong concerning; mistake

2. to misunderstand the reason behind (an act), esp. so as to become offended

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take back

1. to regain use or possession of

2. to retract (something said, promised, etc.)

3. to return (something), as to be exchanged

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take down

1. to remove from a higher place and put in a lower one; pull down

2. to unfasten; take apart

3. to make less conceited; humble

4. to put in writing; record

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☆ take five or take ten

Informal take a break for five (or ten, etc.) minutes, as from working

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take for

1. to consider to be; regard as

2. to mistake for

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take hold

to take effect or become firmly established [the new fad took hold quickly]

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take hold of

to seize; grasp

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take in

1. to admit; receive

2. to shorten (a sail) by reefing or furling

3. to make smaller or more compact

4. to include; comprise

5. to understand; comprehend

6. to cheat; trick; deceive

☆ 7. to visit, see, experience, etc. [to take in all the sights]

8. to receive into one's home for pay [to take in boarders]

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take it

1. to suppose; believe

☆ 2. Slang to withstand difficulty, criticism, hardship, ridicule, etc.

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take it or leave it

accept it or not

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take it out of Informal

1. to exhaust; tire

2. to obtain payment or satisfaction from

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☆ take it out on

Informal to make (another) suffer for one's own anger, irritation, bad temper, etc.

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take off

1. to remove (a garment, etc.)

2. to draw or conduct away

3.

a) to go away; depart

b) to absent oneself, as from work

4. to deduct; subtract

5. to kill

6. to make a copy or likeness of

7. to leave the ground or water in flight

8. Informal to start

9. Informal to imitate in a burlesque manner; parody: with on

10. Informal to become very popular and successful

11. Slang to rob

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take on

1. to acquire; assume (form, quality, etc.)

2. to employ; hire

3. to begin to do (a task, etc.); undertake

4. to compete or play against; oppose

5. Informal to show violent emotion, especially anger or sorrow

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take one's time

to be slow or unhurried; delay

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take out

1.

a) to remove; extract

b) to deduct

2. to obtain by application to the proper authority

3. Informal to escort

4. Slang to kill; specif., to assassinate

5. Bridge to bid higher than (one's partner) but in a different suit

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take over

to assume control or possession of

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take to

1. to develop a habit or practice of doing, using, etc.

2. to apply oneself to (one's studies, work, etc.)

3. to become fond of; care for; be attracted to

4.

a) to go to or withdraw to [to take to the hills, take to one's bed with the flu]

b) to travel on or proceed by [to take to the open road]

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take up

1. to raise; lift

2. to make tighter or shorter

3. to pay off; recover by buying (a mortgage, note, etc.)

4. to absorb (a liquid)

5. to accept (a challenge, bet, etc.)

6. to assume protection or custody of

7. to interrupt in disapproval or rebuke: with on

8. to resume (something interrupted)

9.

a) to become interested in or devoted to (an occupation, study, hobby, belief, etc.)

b) to adopt (an idea)

10. to occupy or fill (space or time)

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take upon oneself or take on oneself

1. to take the responsibility for; accept as a charge

2. to begin (to do something)

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take up with

Informal to become a friend or companion of

takable

adj.

takeable

SYN.- TAKE is the general word meaning to get hold of by or as by the hands [to take a book, the opportunity, etc. ]; to SEIZE is to take suddenly and forcibly [he seized the gun from the robber; to seize power ]; GRASP implies a seizing and holding firmly [to grasp a rope, an idea, etc. ]; CLUTCH¹ implies a tight or convulsive grasping of that which one is eager to take or keep hold of [she clutched his hand in terror ]; GRAB implies a roughness or unscrupulousness in seizing [the child grabbed all the candy; to grab credit ]; SNATCH stresses an abrupt quickness and, sometimes, a surreptitiousness in seizing [she snatched the letter from my hand; to snatch a purse ]