verb
Etymology: Middle English taken down, from taken to take + down
transitive verb
1.
a. : to pull down or to pieces (as a building, a scaffold) : cut down (as a tree)
b.
(1) : to take apart or to pieces (as a motor) : disassemble
take a rifle down
(2) : distribute
take standing type down
2. : to take from a higher to a lower place or level: as
a.
(1) : swallow
took the dose down with a grimace
(2) : submerge
take a submarine down in a practice dive
b. : to conduct or escort to a place on a lower level
take a lady down to dinner
c.
(1) : to lower the spirit or vanity of : abase , humble
had two methods of taking men down: babying them and harping on their faults — Edmund Wilson
whippersnapper needs to be taken down a bit
(2) : to reduce in strength : lay low
was taken down with fever
(3) dialect England : to reduce in flesh : emaciate
d. : to reduce (as light or sound) in intensity
signals the electrician to take the houselights down — Henning Nelms
3. : to remove from a shelf or a hook
took down his navy blue suit from the wardrobe — D.M.Davin
took the family Bible down
4.
a. : to write down
notes taken down in shorthand
no stenographers in Athens to take down what Demosthenes said — Max Eastman
take a name down
b. : to record by mechanical means
a wire recorder that was taking down the bebop music — Chandler Brossard
this particular performance … was taken down in the Rome Opera House — Douglas Watt
intransitive verb
1. : to become seized or attacked especially by illness
took down with typhoid fever
man … who was bearing most of the fitting-out expense took down sick — J.F.Dobie
youngsters always took down with notions — H.L.Davis
2. : to admit of being taken down
hospital could set up in four hours and take down in two, they boasted — A.J.Liebling
doubles take down into a shorter package than most pumps — Warren Page