take

From Middle English taken (“to take, lay hold of, grasp, strike”), from Old English tacan (“to grasp, touch”), 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).^[1][2]

Cognate with Scots tak, Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk taka (“to take”), Norwegian Bokmål ta (“to take”), Swedish ta (“to take”), Danish tage (“to take, seize”), Middle Dutch taken (“to grasp”), Dutch taken (“to take; grasp”), Middle Low German tacken (“to grasp”). English thack may be from the same root. Compare tackle. Unrelated to Lithuanian tèkti (“to receive, be granted”), which is instead cognate with English thig.

Gradually displaced Middle English nimen (“to take”; see nim), from Old English niman (“to take”).

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: tāk, IPA^(key): /teɪk/,

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /tæɪk/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /teːk/
• Rhymes: -eɪk

take (third-person singular simple present takes, present participle taking, simple past took, past participle taken or (archaic or Scotland) tane)

1. (transitive) To get into one's hands, possession, or control, with or without force.

   Synonyms: confiscate, seize; see also Thesaurus:take

   They took Charlton's gun from his cold, dead hands.

   I'll take that plate off the table.

   • 1627, G[eorge] H[akewill], An Apologie of the Power and Prouidence of God in the Gouernment of the World. , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Iohn Lichfield and William Turner, , →OCLC, book IV, pages 402–403:

     All theſe Ceremonies thus being performed; the Prince which ſucceeded taketh a torch, and firſt putteth to the fire himſelfe, and after him all the reſt of the company, and by and by as the fire was kindled out of the toppe of the higheſt turret, an Eagle was let fly to carry vp his ſoule into heaven, and ſo he was afterward reputed, and by the Romanes adored among the reſt of the Gods: […]

   • 1637, Tho[mas] Heywood, Londini Speculum: Or, Londons Mirror, , London: I Okes , →OCLC, signature B, verso:

     That viſage miſ-becomes, thy Pipe / Caſt from thee, Warlike dame, / Take unto thee thy wonted Armes, / And keepe thy Cheekes in frame.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Meeting Point”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 232:

     She took the policeman’s helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.

   • 1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings, New York, N.Y.: Hyperion, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 67:

     We take, take, take until we can't take anymore. Maybe it's because our inner nature is not primarily one of giving, but of taking. Even these things we take that should balance our lives and give us rest do not. We make work out of them. We do them aggressively; always in control. Take.

   1. (transitive) To seize or capture.

      take the guards prisoner

      take prisoners

      After a bloody battle, they were able to take the city.

      • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: Richard Iones, , published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii:

        Therefoꝛe cheere vp your mindes, pꝛapare to fight, / He that can take oꝛ ſlaughter Tamburlaine, / Shall rule the Pꝛouince of Albania.

      • 1929 May–October, Ernest Hemingway, chapter 2, in A Farewell to Arms, 1st British edition, London: Jonathan Cape , published 1929, →OCLC, book I, page 13:

        The river ran behind us and the town had been captured very handsomely but the mountains beyond it could not be taken and I was very glad the Austrians seemed to want to come back to the town some time, if the war should end, because they did not bombard it to destroy it but only a little in a military way.

      • 1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter III, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, page 32:

        The front line, ours and the Fascists', lay in positions of immense natural strength, which as a rule could only be approached from one side. Provided a few trenches have been dug, such places cannot be taken by infantry, except in overwhelming numbers.

   2. (transitive) To catch or get possession of (fish or game).

      took ten catfish in one afternoon

      • 1839, Charles Darwin, chapter XII, in Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle, between the Years 1826 and 1836, , volume III, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, page 248:

        The horses appear to thrive well, yet they are small sized, and have lost so much strength, that they are unfit to be used in taking wild cattle with the lazo.

   3. (transitive, cricket) To catch the ball; especially as a wicket-keeper and after the batsman has missed or edged it.
   4. (transitive) To appropriate or transfer into one's own possession, sometimes by physically carrying off.

      Billy took her pencil.

   5. (transitive) To exact.

      take a toll

      take revenge

      • 1849, Herman Melville, chapter XXII, in Mardi: And a Voyage Thither. , volume I, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, , →OCLC, page 92:

        "Load away now, and take thy revenge, my fine fellow," said Samoa to himself. But not yet.

      • 1913 November, Rabindranath Tagore, “The Problem of Evil”, in Sādhanā: The Realisation of Life, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, page 65:

        It is only when we invoke the aid of pain for our self-gratification that she becomes evil and takes her vengeance for the insult done to her by hurling us into misery.

   6. (transitive) To capture or win (a piece or trick) in a game.

      took the next two tricks

      took Smith's rook

2. (transitive) To receive or accept (something, especially something which was given).

   Synonyms: garner, get, obtain, win; see also Thesaurus:receive

   Antonym: give

   took third place

   took bribes

   The camera takes 35mm film.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Numbers 35:31, column 1:

     Moꝛeouer, yee ſhall take no ſatiſfaction foꝛ the life of a murderer, which is guiltie of death, but he ſhalbe ſurely put to death.

   • 1980 March 7, Billy Joel, “You May Be Right”, in Glass Houses‎:

     You were lonely for a man
     I said, "Take me as I am"
     'Cause you might enjoy some madness for a while

   1. (transitive) To receive or accept (something) as payment or compensation.

      The store doesn't take checks.

      She wouldn't take any money for her help.

      Do you take plastic?

      The vending machine only takes bills, it doesn't take coins.

      • c. 1590 (date written), [John Lyly], Mother Bombie. , 2nd edition, London: Thomas Creede, for Cuthbert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC, Act III, scene iv, signature , verso:

        I take no mony, but good vvords, raile not if I tell true, if I do not reuenge. Farevvell.

      • 1860 August–December, John Ruskin, “Essay I. The Roots of Honour.”, in “Unto This Last:” Four Essays on the First Principles of Political Economy, London: Smith, Elder and Co., , published 1862, →OCLC, page 95:

        But I said that, so far as you employ it at all, bad work should be paid no less than good work; as a bad clergyman yet takes his tithes, a bad physician takes his fee, and a bad lawyer his costs.

   2. (transitive) To accept and follow (advice, etc.).

      take my advice

      • a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: , London: A and J Churchill, , published 1706, →OCLC, § 13, page 49:

        Between theſe, thoſe ſeem to to beſt who taking material and uſeful hints, ſometimes from ſingle matters of Fact, carry them in their Minds to be judg'd of, by what they ſhall find in Hiſtory to confirm or reverſe theſe imperfect Obſervations; which may be eſtabliſh'd into Rules fit to be rely'd on, when they are juſtify'd by a ſufficient and wary Induction of Particulars.

   3. (transitive) To receive into some relationship.

      take a wife

      The school only takes new students in the fall.

      The therapist wouldn't take him as a client.

   4. (transitive, intransitive, law) To receive or acquire (property) by law (e.g. as an heir).
      • 1831 June, J. Duncan, “Lodge against Simonton”, in Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, third edition, volume II, Philadelphia, P.A.: Kay & Brother, published 1880, page 442:

        There was no intestacy, and they did not take under the will as heirs, but the widow and the children, under the residuary devise, take as tenants in common.

   5. (transitive) To accept, be given (rightly or wrongly), or assume (especially as if by right).

      He took all the credit for the project, although he had done almost none of the work.

      She took the blame, in the public's eyes, although the debacle was more her husband's fault than her own.

3. (transitive) To remove.

   Synonyms: knock off, subduct; see also Thesaurus:remove

   take two eggs from the carton

   • a. 1717 (date written), Robert South, “Sermon VI”, in Five Additional Volumes of Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions. , volume X, London: Charles Bathurst, , published 1744, →OCLC, page 187:

     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.

   • 1729, J[ohn] Woodward, An Attempt towards a Natural History of the Fossils of England; , tome I, London: F Fayram, ; J Senex, ; and J. Osborn and T Longman, , →OCLC, part I (Of the Fossils that are Real and Natural: ), page 5:

     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.

   • 1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review‎, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y., London: Wiley & Putnam, , →OCLC, pages Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door! / Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!" / Quoth the raven, "Nevermore.":
   1. (transitive) To remove or end by death; to kill.

      Synonyms: do in, terminate; see also Thesaurus:kill

      The earthquake took many lives.

      The plague took rich and poor alike.

      Cancer took her life.

      He took his life last night.

   2. (transitive) To subtract.

      Synonyms: take away; see also Thesaurus:subtract

      Take one from three and you are left with two.

4. (transitive) To have sex with.

   Synonyms: have, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

   • 1990, Pat Booth, Malibu, Crown Publishers, Inc., page 222:

     Sometimes he would have her standing up by the side of the bed, not bothering to undress, merely undoing his fly and using her like a cheap envelope to receive his lust. At others he would take her on the floor of her clothes closet and then leave her, locked in for the rest of the night, awash with his sex, until her embarrassed maid freed her the next morning.

   • 2002 September 16, INCESTOR, “STORY: "Horny Peeping Sister" (6/9) (mf, voy, family) 566710”, in alt.sex.stories‎ (Usenet):

     I wonder what it would feel like to take two cocks at the same time.

   • 1967 [1945], Georges Simenon, translated by Jean Stewart, Monsieur Monde Vanishes, New York, N.Y., London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, →ISBN, page 126:

     He remembered her look of distress, her childish "Oh!" when he took her for the first time, clumsily, because he felt ashamed. And each time after that, each time they had sex together, though he tried to be as gentle as possible, he knew she was wearing the same expression, he avoided seeing her face, and thus it happened that instead of being a pleasure the sexual act became an ordeal.

   • 2012, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge: A Definitive Encyclopaedia of Existing Information: In 27 Excruciating Volumes, New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 8:

     Modern Amsterdam is among Europe's most progressive cities, leading in such fields as design, fisting, felching, civil engineering, fashion, five-ways, pony play, computer science, and transportation. Its stock exchange is the oldest in Europe, and lovely Anastasia takes six men at once while shitting into a crystal goblet during her live show on the Bloedstraat at 11:30 p.m. every Tuesday.

   • 2014 July 3, Mock the Week, season 13, episode 4, Susan Calman (actor):

     And the queen takes the bishop...this is turning out to be quite the royal wedding! [winks at the camera]

5. (transitive) To defeat (someone or something) in a fight.

   Synonym: beat

   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!

   • 1840 April – 1841 November, Charles Dickens, “Chapter the Sixth”, in The Old Curiosity Shop. A Tale. , volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, , published 1841, →OCLC, page 111:

     "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!"

   • 1878, William Black, “Fionaghal”, in Macleod of Dare. , volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 57:

     "What is cruel now was not cruel then," he said; "it was a way of fighting; it was what is called an ambush now—enticing your enemy, and then taking him at a disadvantage. And if you did not do that to him he would do it to you. And when a man is mad with anger or revenge, what does he care for anything?"

6. (transitive) To grasp or grip.

   Synonyms: grab, nim; see also Thesaurus:grasp

   He took her hand in his.

   • 1786, [William Beckford], translated by [Samuel Henley], An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript:  [Vathek], London: J Johnson, , →OCLC, pages 119–120:

     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.

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Sick Room”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. , volume II, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, page 142:

     She sat half upright, supported on Henrietta's shoulder; and, taking her father's hand, she clasped it with her husband's.

7. (transitive) 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.

   I'll take two sugars in my coffee, please.

   • 1661, Galilæus Galilæus Lyncæus [i.e., Galileo Galilei], “The Systeme of the World: In Four Dialogues. . The Second Dialogue.”, in Thomas Salusbury, transl., Mathematical Collections and Translations, tome I, 1st part, London: William Leybourne, →OCLC, page 168:

     Salv. We can think no other, if we do but conſider the way he taketh to confute their aſſertion; the confutation of which confiſts in the demolition of buildings, and the toſſing of ſtones, living creatures and men themſelves up into the Air.

   1. (transitive) To adopt (select) as one's own.

      She took his side in every argument.

      take a stand on the important issues

   • 1882, Bret Harte, “”, in Flip; and Found at Blazing Star, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company , →OCLC, page 117:

     Heeding the wise caution of his com rades, he took the habit of wearing the ring only at night. Wrapped in his blanket, he stealthily slipped the golden circlet over his little finger, and, as he averred, "slept all the better for it."

8. (transitive) To carry or lead (something or someone).

   Antonym: bring

   She took her sword with her everywhere she went.

   I'll take the plate with me.

   • 1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, , 10th edition, London: J. Owen, , and F and C Rivington, , →OCLC, page 2:

     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.

   1. (transitive, especially of a vehicle) To transport or carry; to convey to another place.

      The next bus will take you to Metz.

      I took him for a ride

      I took him down to London.

      • 1925, Aldous Huxley, Along the Road: Notes and Essays of a Tourist, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, part I (Travel in General), page 16:

        All I claim for the ten-horse-power Citroën is this: that it works. In a modest and unassuming way, not very rapidly, indeed, but steadily and reliably, it takes one about.

   2. (transitive, of a path, road, etc.) To lead (to a place); to serve as a means of reaching.

      These stairs take you down to the basement.

      Stone Street took us right past the store.

      • 1884, James Anthony Froude, Thomas Carlyle: A History of His Life in London, 1834–1881 , volume I, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 188:

        Our old wooden Battersea bridge takes me over the river; in ten minutes' swift trotting I am fairly away from the monster and its bricks.

   3. (transitive) To pass (or attempt to pass) through or around.

      She took the steps two or three at a time.

      He took the curve / corner too fast.

      The pony took every hedge and fence in its path.

   4. (transitive) To escort or conduct (a person).

      He took her to lunch at the new restaurant, took her to the movies, and then took her home.

      • 1796, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “To a Young Ass, It's Mother Being Tethered Near It”, in Poems on Various Subjects, London: G G and J Robinsons, and J Cottle, , →OCLC, page 93:

        And fain would take thee with me, in the Dell / Of Peace and mild Equality to dwell, / Where Toil ſhall call the charmer Health his Bride, / And Laughter tickle Plenty's ribleſs ſide!

      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 25:

        Here was my chance. I took the old man aside, and two or three glasses of Old Crow launched him into reminiscence.

      • 1937 September 21, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “Queer Lodgings”, in The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again, London: Unwin Books, George Allen & Unwin, →OCLC, page 108:

        'You had better wait here,' said the wizard to the dwarves; 'and when I call or whistle begin to come after me — you will see the way I go — but only in pairs, mind, about five minutes between each pair of you. Bombur is fattest and will do for two, he had better come alone and last. Come on Mr. Baggins! There is a gate somewhere round this way.' And with that he went off along the hedge taking the frightened hobbit with him.

   5. (reflexive) To go.
      • 2007, Edwin B. Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, New York, N.Y.: BlueBridge, published 2008, →ISBN, page 59:

        In a rare example of clemency Pope John assured him of a pardon, perhaps on the grounds that the innocent monk had merely been the victim of Louis's overbearing ambitions. Nicholas then took himself to Avignon where in August 1330 he formally renounced his claim to the papacy.

9. (transitive) 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.

   He's 96 but he still takes the stairs.

10. (transitive) 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.

    • 1873, Charles Reade, chapter IV, in A Simpleton: A Story of the Day , volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, , →OCLC, page 113:
    • 1880, [Benjamin Disraeli], chapter IX, in Endymion , volume II, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 95:

      We understand that His Royal Highness Prince Florestan, who has been for some little time in this country, has taken the mansion in Carlton Gardens, recently occupied by the Marquis of Katterfelto. The mansion is undergoing very considerable repairs, but it is calculated that it will be completed in time for the reception of His Royal Highness by the end of the autumn; His Royal Highness has taken the extensive moors of Dinniewhiskie for the coming season.

    1. (transitive) To obtain or receive regularly by (paid) subscription.

       They took two magazines.

       I used to take The Sunday Times.

11. (transitive) 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.

    • 1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 73:

      Frankly, he tells me, he's really disappointed in my attitude. He hopes ah'm not taking drugs, scrutinising my face as if he can tell.

12. (transitive) To consume (food or drink).

    The general took dinner at seven o'clock.

    • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate , New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, , →OCLC, page 48:

      To such men as Mr. Hellyer, who every night take much strong drink, and on no occasion whatever take any exercise, sixty is the grand climacteric. He was a year ago just fifty-nine. Alas! he has not even reached his grand climacteric. Already he is gone. He was cut off by pneumonia, or apoplexy, last Christmas.

    • 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “Major Major Major Major”, in Catch-22 , New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 89:

      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.

13. (transitive) To undergo; to put oneself into, to be subjected to.

    take sun-baths

    take a shower

    She made the decision to take chemotherapy.

14. (transitive) To experience or feel.

    She takes pride in her work.

    I take offence at that.

    to take a dislike

    to take pleasure in his opponent's death

    • 1557 February 13 (Gregorian calendar), Thomas Tusser, “The Authors life.”, in A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie, London: Richard Tottel, →OCLC; republished London: Robert Triphook, , and William Sancho, , 1810, →OCLC, stanza 37, page 214:

      Man taketh paine, God giueth gaine, / Man doth his best, God doth the rest, / Man well intendes, God foizon sendes, / else want he shall.

    • 1599, W. Kinsayder or Theriomastix [pseudonyms; John Marston], “Humours”, in The Scourge of Villanie. , London: I R, →OCLC; republished as G[eorge] B[agshawe] Harrison, editor, The Scourge of Villanie (The Bodley Head Quartos; 13), London: John Lane, The Bodley Head ; New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Company, 1925, →OCLC, page 117:

      Taking great ioy / If you will daine his faculties imploy / But in the mean’st ingenious quality.

    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 18:

      Thinks I to myself, "Sol, you're run off your course again. This is some rich city man's summer 'cottage' and if you don't look out there's likely to be some nice, lively dog taking an interest in your underpinning." So I started to back away again into the bushes. But I hadn't backed more'n a couple of yards when I see something so amazing that I couldn't help scooching down behind the bayberries and looking at it.

15. (transitive) 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.

    The hull took a lot of punishment before it broke.

    I can take the noise, but I can't take the smell.

    That truck bed will only take two tons.

    • 2022 September 11, Drachinifel, 56:34 from the start, in The Drydock - Episode 213 (Part 1)‎, YouTube, archived from the original on 2022-09-12:

      […] and, kind of the ultimate example of the plans for the R-class was to refit them with huge bulges, almost monitor-style bulges, to be able to take multiple air-dropped torpedo attacks, but also to just, literally, slap on four inches of deck armor.

16. (transitive) To suffer; to endure (a hardship or damage).

    The ship took a direct hit and was destroyed.

    Her career took a hit.

    • 1894, R[ichard] D[oddridge] Blackmore, “His Last Bivouac”, in Perlycross: A Tale of the Western Hills, London: Sampson Low, Marston, & Company , →OCLC, page 429:

      This gap had been caused by the sweep of tempest that went up the valley at the climax of the storm. The wall, being low, had taken little harm; but the great west gable of the Abbey had been smitten, and swung on its back, as a trap-door swings upon its hinges.

17. (transitive) 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.

18. (transitive) 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.

    • 2011, Thomas M. Bloch, Many Happy Returns: The Story of Henry Bloch, America's Tax Man, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., →ISBN, page 86:

      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.

19. (transitive) To regard in a specified way.

    He took the news badly.

    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 361:

      Not unnaturally, "Auntie" took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago.

20. (transitive) 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

21. (transitive) To understand (especially in a specified way).

    Don't take my comments as an insult.

    if she took my meaning

    • 1853 January, The American Journal of Science and Arts, volume 15, number 43, →ISSN, page 125:

      The author explained the theory of Dove, which, if we took him correctly, was, that the lustre of bodies and particularly the metallic lustre arose from the light coming from the one stratum of the superficial particles of bodies interfering on the eye with the light coming from other and deeper strata,—the regular symmetrical arrangement of the particles in these bodies producing effects somewhat analogous to that of mother-of-pearl

    • 2022 October 29, Felix Bazalgette, “'It was more than a pub' – the story of five boozers forced to call last orders”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-02-05:

      More than a third of the new flats will be a mix of council rent and "affordable" rent – definitions vary but often this is taken to mean that their cost won't exceed 80% of the normal market rate.

22. (transitive) To believe, to accept the statements of.

    take her word for it

    take him at his word

    • 1702, N[icholas] Rowe, Tamerlane. A Tragedy. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 36:

      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.

23. (transitive) 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?

    Do you take me to be stupid?

    Looking at him as he came into the room, I took him for his father.

    • c. 1552 (date written), Nicholas Udall, , : [s.n.], published 1566?; republished as Edward Arber, editor, Roister Doister.  (English Reprints), London: Muir & Paterson, , 24 July 1869, →OCLC, pages 51–52:

      For (as I heare ſay) ſuche your conditions are, / To ye be worthie fauour of no liuing man, / To be abhorred of euery honeſt man. / To be taken for a woman enclined to vice.

    • 1873, Anthony Trollope, “ Gold.”, in Australia and New Zealand. , volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, , →OCLC, page 80:

      When we were ashore we had to walk a couple of miles through the forest in search of the village in which we were to sleep, a place called Tiaro, and when we found it, about two in the morning, the first innkeeper whom we knocked up, a German, took us for bushrangers and would not let us in.

    • 1950, E Basil Redlich, The Early Traditions of Genesis, London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., page 108:

      The dimensions of the ark, if we take a cubit to be equal to 1½ feet, are 450 × 75 × 45 feet. It is to be built in three stories and to contain rooms or nests for Noah's family and the animals.

24. (transitive) 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.

    • 1671, John Tillotson, “Phil[ippians] iij. 8.”, in Sermons Preach’d upon Several Occasions, London: A M for Sa Gellibrand, , →OCLC, page 196:

      And the firm belief of a future Judgment, which ſhall render to every man according to his deeds, if it be well conſider'd, is to a reaſonable nature the moſt forcible motive of all other to a good life; becauſe it is taken frmo the conſideration of the greateſt and moſt laſting happineſs and miſery that Humane nature is capable of.

25. (transitive) To derive (as a title); to obtain from a source.

    "As I Lay Dying" takes its title from Book XI of Homer's "Odyssey"

    • 1676, Richard Wiseman, “The First Book. A Treatise of Tumours.”, in Severall Chirurgicall Treatises, London: E. Flesher and J. Macock, for R Royston , and B Took, , →OCLC, page 55:

      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.

26. (transitive) To catch or contract (an illness, etc.).

    took a chill

    to take cold

27. (transitive) To come upon or catch (in a particular state or situation).
28. (transitive) To captivate or charm; to gain or secure the interest or affection of.

    took her fancy

    took her attention

    • 1839, Thomas Moore, The Epicurean: A Tale, London: John Macrone, page 33:

      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.

29. (transitive, of a material) To absorb or be impregnated by (dye, ink, etc.); to be susceptible to being treated by (polish, etc.).

    cloth that takes dye well

    paper that takes ink

    the leather that takes a certain kind of polish

30. (transitive, of a ship) To let in (water).
    • 1972, Anne Sinai, Israel & the Arabs: Prelude to the Jewish State, New York, N.Y.: Facts on File, Inc., →ISBN, pages 107–108:

      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.

31. (transitive) To require.

    It takes a while to get used to the smell.

    Looks like it's gonna take a taller person to get that down.

    Finishing this on schedule will take a lot of overtime.

    • 1921 January 15, Millard's Review of the Far East, volume XV, number 7, →OCLC, page 357:

      If the summary of the Tientsin society as accurate, a famine population of.more than 14,000,000 is already bad enough. If it takes five dollars to keep one of them alive, the task of relieving the whole population affected will require nearly $80,000,000.

    • 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, chapter 13, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa., New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, part 2, page 145:

      I know now what he was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work.

    • 2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 36:

      It took an effort to restrain himself, and in a level voice to reassure earnest young Mark in his David Ogilvy-clone outfit that even the most red-faced colonels in England were unlikely to be upset by his banal formulation.

    • 2009, Rachel Hagger-Holt, Sarah Hagger-Holt, Living It Out, Norwich, Norfolk: Canterbury Press, →ISBN, page 82:

      While it takes courage to come out, the acceptance of parents and other family members can really help the person coming out to accept themselves.

    • 2013 August 31, “Code blue”, in The Economist‎, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-27:

      TIME was it took a war to close a financial exchange. Now all it needs is a glitch in technology. On August 26th trading on Eurex, the main German derivatives exchange, opened as usual; 20 minutes later it shut down for about an hour.

32. (transitive) To proceed to fill.

    He took a seat in the front row.

33. (transitive) To fill, require, or use up (time or space).

    Hunting that whale takes most of his free time.

    His collection takes a lot of space.

34. (transitive) To fill or require: to last or expend (an amount of time).

    The trip will take about ten minutes.

    • 1940, Zane Grey, chapter 12, in 30,000 on the Hoof, Roslyn, N.Y.: Walter J. Black, →OCLC, page 193:

      "Barbara, what I have to confess will amaze and grieve you," began Lucinda, with grave tenderness. "But it is best for your happiness, for the future that I see can be yours. And surely best for all of us Huetts. It has taken me years—years to come to this decision—to break one aspect of our happy home life here for a possible fuller and better one."

35. (transitive) To avail oneself of; to exploit.

    He took that opportunity to leave France.

    • 2000, Cameron Judd, The Overmountain Men: A Novel, Nashville, T.N.: Cumberland House, →ISBN, page 166:

      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.

    • 2001, Stephen White, The Program, Waterville, M.E.: Thorndike Press, →ISBN, page 365:

      He took the pause to allow himself time to begin to catalog all the surfaces he may have touched during the scuffle.

36. (transitive) To practice; perform; execute; carry out; do.

    take a walk

    take action/steps/measures to fight drug abuse

    take a trip

    take aim

    take the tempo slowly

    The kick is taken from where the foul occurred.

    Pirès ran in to take the kick.

    The throw-in is taken from the point where the ball crossed the touch-line.

    • 1724, [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunate Mistress;  [Roxana], London: E. Applebee, , published 1740, →OCLC, page 94:

      We had ſome very agreeable Converſations upon this Subject; and once he told me, with a kind of more than ordinary Concern upon his Thoughts, that he was greatly beholden to me for taking this hazardous and diffiult Journey; for that I had kept him Honeſt; […]

    • 1853, Dante [Alighieri], “Canto XX”, in C[harles] B[agot] Cayley, transl., Dante’s Divine Comedy. The Purgatory: Translated in the Original Ternary Rhyme, volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 146, lines 73–75:

      Unarmed he issues, and with but the spear / That Judas jousted with, he takes an aim, / Which through the chest of Florence drives it sheer.

    • 1891, Oscar Wilde, “The Young King”, in A House of Pomegranates, London: James R Osgood, McIlvaine & Co , →OCLC, page 12:

      At last they reached a little bay, and began to take soundings.

37. (transitive) To assume or perform (a form or role).
    1. (transitive) To assume (a form).

       took the form of a duck

       took shape

       a god taking the likeness of a bird

    2. (transitive) To perform (a role).

       take the part of the villain/hero

    3. (transitive) To assume and undertake the duties of (a job, an office, etc.).

       take office

       take the throne

       • 2013 August 10, “Cronies and capitols”, in The Economist‎, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-27:

         Policing the relationship between government and business in a free society is difficult. Businesspeople have every right to lobby governments, and civil servants to take jobs in the private sector.

38. (transitive) To bind oneself by.

    he took the oath of office last night

    • 1791, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution, London: J. S. Jordan, , →OCLC, page 106:

      On this, they withdrew to a tenisground in the neighbourhood of Berſailles, as the moſt convenient place they could find, and, after renewing their ſeſſion, took an oath never to ſeparate from each other, under any circumſtance whatever, death excepted, until they had eſtabliſhed a conſtitution.

39. (transitive) To go into, through, or along.

    go down two blocks and take the next left

    take the path of least resistance

    • 1613–1614 (date written), John Fletcher, William Shak[e]speare, The Two Noble Kinsmen: , London: Tho Cotes, for Iohn Waterson;  , published 1634, →OCLC, Act III, scene v, page 45:

      Theſ. This way the Stag tooke.

    • 1945 January 13, Herr Meets Hare, spoken by Bugs Bunny:

      I knew I should have taken the left toin at Albuquerque.

    • 2001, Salman Rushdie, chapter 6, in Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 69:

      After getting out of Beloved Ali's cab he'd picked up a copy of the News and the Post, then had taken an erratic route home, walking fast, as if trying to escape something....Ellen DeGeneres, posters proclaimed, was coming soon to the Beacon Theatre.

    1. (transitive) To go or move into.

       the witness took the stand

       the next team took the field

40. (transitive) To have and use one's recourse to.

    take cover/shelter/refuge

41. (transitive) To ascertain or determine by measurement, examination or inquiry.

    take her pulse / temperature / blood pressure

    take a census

    • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Humours and Dispositions of the Laputians Described. ”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. , volume II, London: Benj Motte, , →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), pages 23–24:

      He firſt took my Altitude by a Quadrant, and then with Rule and Compaſſes, deſcribed the Dimenſions and Out-lines of my whole Body, all which he enter'd upon Paper, and in ſix days brought my Clothes very ill made, and quite out of ſhape, by happening to miſtake a Figure in the Calculation.

42. (transitive) To write down; to get in, or as if in, writing.

    He took a mental inventory of his supplies.

    She took careful notes.

    • 1924 May 24 – July 12, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “A Marriage Has Been Arranged”, in Bill the Conqueror: His Invasion of England in the Springtime, 10th edition, London: Methuen & Co. , published 1931, →OCLC, § 2, page 6:

      The days when he was plain George Pyke, humble clerk in a solicitor’s office, and used to thrill at the soft voice of Lucy Maynard as she took the order for his frugal lunch at the Holborn Viaduct Cabin, had long since faded from his memory.

43. (transitive) 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.

44. (transitive, dated) To make a picture, photograph, etc. of (a person, scene, etc.).

    The photographer will take you sitting down.

    to take a group/scene

45. (transitive) To obtain money from, especially by swindling.

    took me for ten grand

46. (transitive, now chiefly by enrolling in a class or course) 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.

47. (transitive) To deal with.

    take matters as they arise

48. (transitive) 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.

49. (transitive, baseball) To decline to swing at (a pitched ball); to refrain from hitting at, and allow to pass.

    He'll probably take this one.

50. (transitive) To accept as an input to a relation.
    1. (transitive, grammar) To have to be used with (a certain grammatical form, etc.).

       This verb takes the dative; that verb takes the genitive.

    2. (transitive, mathematics, computing) To accept (zero or more arguments).

       The function takes two arguments, an array of size n and an integer k.

51. (intransitive) 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.

52. (intransitive) To engage, take hold or have effect.
    • 1631, Francis [Bacon], “II. Century. [Experiments in Consort, Touching Sounds; and First Touching the Nullity and Entity of Sounds.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. , 3rd edition, London: William Rawley ; rinted by J H for William Lee , →OCLC, paragraph 119, page 40:

      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.

    1. (of ink, dye, etc.) To adhere or be absorbed properly.

       the dye didn't take

       Boiling pasta with a bit of the sauce in the water will help the sauce "take."

    2. (of a plant, etc.) To begin to grow after being grafted or planted; to (literally or figuratively) take root, take hold.

       not all grafts take

       I started some tomato seeds last spring, but they didn't take.

       • 1884, S[tephen] B[leecker] Luce, Aaron Ward, Text-book of Seamanship. , New York, N.Y.: D. Van Nostrand, page 179:

         The cradles are supported under their centres by shores, on which the keel takes. The ends of the cradles are hinged, and can drop down clear when the boat is being hoisted or lowered.

    3. (of a mechanical device) To catch; to engage.
       • 2009, Sheldon Russell, The Yard Dog, New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, →ISBN, page 210:

         At the depot, Hook climbed out, slamming the door twice before the latch took. A train idled on the main track, the engine hissing as it waited for the crew change. From the windows, passengers watched on at the world outside.

    4. (possibly dated) To win acceptance, favor or favorable reception; to charm people.
       • 1716, [Joseph Addison], “Prologue”, in The Drummer; , second edition (play), London: Jacob Tonſon , published 1741, unnumbered page:

         Each Wit may praiſe it, for his own dear Sake, / And hint He writ it, if the Thing ſhowd take.

       • 1967, Richard Martin Stern, The Kessler Legacy, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 103:

         Here was only cruelty and pain; where was the loving side of Christianity? "When I was young," I said, "I was vaccinated with religion, but the vaccination didn't take."

53. (intransitive, copulative) To become; to be affected in a specified way.

    They took ill within 3 hours.

    She took sick with the flu.

54. (intransitive, possibly dated) To be able to be accurately or beautifully photographed.
    • 1881, Jessie Fothergill, chapter IX, in Kith and Kin: A Novel, volume II, London: Robert Bentley and Son, page 259:

      '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.'

55. (intransitive, dialectal, proscribed)^[3] An intensifier.
    • 1843, Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Mayflower; Or, Sketches of Scenes and Characters Among the Descendants of the Pilgrims, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, page 34:

      I don't know but she would, but just then poor Sukey came in, and looked so frightened and scarey—Sukey is a pretty gal, and looks so trembling and delicate, that it's kinder a shame to plague her, and so I took and come away for that time.

    • 1859, George Meredith, The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. , volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, page 100:

      Speed-the-Plough lurched round on his elbow and regarded him indifferently. "Moighty foin, that be! D'ye call that Doctrin'? He bean't al'ays, or I shoon't be scrapin' my heels wi' nothin' to do, and what's warse, nothin' to eat. Why, look heer. Luck 's luck, and bad luck's the con-trary. Varmer Bollop, t'other day, has's rick burnt down. Next night his gran'ry's burnt. What do he tak' and go and do? He takes, and goes, and hangs unsel', and turns us out o' 'ploy. God warn't above the Devil then, I thinks, or I can't make out the reckonin'."

    • 1875, Arthur Sketchley, Mrs. Brown at the Crystal Palace, London: George Routledge and Sons, page 100:

      As made Queen 'Lizzybeth swear like blazes, and ketched poor old Dizzy sich a smack o' the face, as sent 'im up in a corner a-wimperin' with 'is 'ankercher to 'is nose, as made Gladstin give a grin, tho' he took good care to keep out of old Betsey's way, as glared at 'im; and then took and turned on me and says, "Let me give you a turn, for you're a-layin' on your back too much."

    • 1943, Max Brand [pseudonym; Frederick Schiller Faust], Silvertip's Trap, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, page 30:

      I took and beat the devil out of him. I got him against the wall, and the back of his head bumped the wall just when my fist hit his chin, and he went out like a light, and that's how he come to have that big cut on his chin, like you was talking about.

    • 1985, Darcy O'Brien, Two of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers, New York, N.Y., Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, page 34:

      […] I went and kicked the door in and took care of some other people. Then I took and went back to the hotel—" ¶ "The hotel where you live, right? The Gilbert Hotel?" ¶ "Right. I took and went back to the hotel, took a shower, went out and talked to a police officer—" ¶ "A police officer. Sheriff's deputy? LAPD? What's his name?" ¶ "Can't recall. Jim. Charlie, could be."

56. (transitive, obsolete) To deliver, bring, give (something) to (someone).
    • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt  (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew xxij:[19], folio xxxi, verso:

      Jeſus perceaved there wylynes ãd ſayde: Why tempte ye me ye ypocrytes: lett me ſe the tribute money. And they toke hym a peny.

57. (transitive, obsolete outside dialects and slang) To give or deliver (a blow, to someone); to strike or hit.

    He took me a blow on the head.

58. (archaic) To visit; to include in a course of travel.
    • 1677, William Penn, A Collection of the Works of William Penn: , volume I, London: J. Sowle, , published 1726, page 60:

      Now about a Year ſince, R. B. and B. F. took that City in the Way from Frederickſtadt to Amſterdam, and gave them a Viſit: In which they informed them ſomewhat of Friend's Principles, and recommended the Teſtimony of TRUTH to them, as both a nearer and more certain Thing than the utmoſt of De Labadie's Doctrine. They left them tender and loving.

    • 1793, John Whitehead, The Life of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A. , Dublin: John Jones, , published 1805, page 441:

      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.

59. (obsolete, rare) To portray in a painting.
    • a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “To The Pious Memory of the Accomplish'd Young Lady Mrs. Anne Killigrew, ”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, , volume II, London: J and R Tonson, , published 1760, →OCLC, page 216:

      Beauty alone could beauty take ſo right: / Her dreſs, her ſhape, her matchleſs grace, / Were all obferv'd, as well as heavenly face.

60. Used in phrasal verbs: take in, take off, take on, take out, take to, take something to, take up.

• In a few informal sociolects, the past form took is sometimes replaced by the proscribed form taked.
• Similarly, the participle taken is sometimes replaced by the equally proscribed tooken.
• In older forms of English, when the pronoun thou was in active use, and verbs used -est for distinct second-person singular indicative forms, the verb take had the form takest, and had tookest for its past tense.
• Similarly, when the ending -eth was in active use for third-person singular present indicative forms, the form taketh was used.