v. & n.
v. (took; taken) 1 tr. lay hold of; get into one's hands. 2 tr. acquire, get possession of, capture, earn, or win. 3 tr. get the use of by purchase or formal agreement (take lodgings). 4 tr. (in a recipe) avail oneself of; use. 5 tr. use as a means of transport (took a taxi). 6 tr. regularly buy or subscribe to (a particular newspaper or periodical etc.). 7 tr. obtain after fulfilling the required conditions (take a degree). 8 tr. occupy (take a chair). 9 tr. make use of (take the next turning on the left). 10 tr. consume as food or medicine (took tea; took the pills). 11 intr. a be successful or effective (the inoculation did not take). b (of a plant, seed, etc.) begin to grow. 12 tr. require or use up (will only take a minute; these things take time). 13 tr. cause to come or go with one; convey (take the book home; the bus will take you all the way). 14 tr. remove; dispossess a person of (someone has taken my pen). 15 tr. catch or be infected with (fire or fever etc.). 16 tr. a experience or be affected by (take fright; take pleasure). b give play to (take comfort). c exert (take courage; take no notice). 17 tr. find out and note (a name and address; a person's temperature etc.) by enquiry or measurement. 18 tr. grasp mentally; understand (I take your point; I took you to mean yes). 19 tr. treat or regard in a specified way (took the news calmly; took it badly). 20 tr. (foll. by for) regard as being (do you take me for an idiot?). 21 tr. a accept (take the offer). b submit to (take a joke; take no nonsense; took a risk). 22 tr. choose or assume (took a different view; took a job; took the initiative). 23 tr. derive (takes its name from the inventor). 24 tr. (foll. by from) subtract (take 3 from 9). 25 tr. execute, make, or undertake; perform or effect (take notes; take an oath; take a decision; take a look). 26 tr. occupy or engage oneself in; indulge in; enjoy (take a rest; take exercise; take a holiday). 27 tr. conduct (took the school assembly). 28 tr. deal with in a certain way (took the corner too fast). 29 tr. a teach or be taught (a subject). b be examined in (a subject). 30 tr. make (a photograph) with a camera; photograph (a person or thing). 31 tr. use as an instance (let us take Napoleon). 32 tr. Gram. have or require as part of the appropriate construction (this verb takes an object). 33 tr. have sexual intercourse with (a woman). 34 tr. (in passive; foll. by by, with) be attracted or charmed by.
n. 1 an amount taken or caught in one session or attempt etc. 2 a scene or sequence of film photographed continuously at one time. 3 esp. US takings, esp. money received at a theatre for seats. 4 Printing the amount of copy set up at one time. be taken ill become ill, esp. suddenly. have what it takes colloq. have the necessary qualities etc. for success. take account of see ACCOUNT. take action see ACTION. take advantage of see ADVANTAGE. take advice see ADVICE. take after resemble (esp. a parent or ancestor). take against begin to dislike, esp. impulsively. take aim see AIM. take apart 1 dismantle. 2 colloq. beat or defeat. take aside see ASIDE. take as read accept without reading or discussing. take away 1 remove or carry elsewhere. 2 subtract. 3 Brit. buy (food etc.) at a shop or restaurant for eating elsewhere. take-away Brit. attrib.adj. (of food) bought at a shop or restaurant for eating elsewhere.
n. 1 an establishment selling this. 2 the food itself (let's get a take-away). take back 1 retract (a statement). 2 convey (a person or thing) to his or her or its original position. 3 carry (a person) in thought to a past time. 4 Printing transfer to the previous line. take the biscuit (or bun or cake) colloq. be the most remarkable. take a bow see BOW(2). take care of see CARE. take a chance etc. see CHANCE. take down 1 write down (spoken words). 2 remove (a structure) by separating it into pieces. 3 humiliate. take effect see EFFECT. take for granted see GRANT. take fright see FRIGHT. take from diminish; weaken; detract from. take heart be encouraged. take hold see HOLD(1). take-home pay the pay received by an employee after the deduction of tax etc. take ill (US sick) colloq. be taken ill. take in 1 receive as a lodger etc. 2 undertake (work) at home. 3 make (a garment etc.) smaller. 4 understand (did you take that in?). 5 cheat (managed to take them all in). 6 include or comprise. 7 colloq. visit (a place) on the way to another (shall we take in Avebury?). 8 furl (a sail). 9 Brit. regularly buy (a newspaper etc.). take-in n. a deception. take in hand 1 undertake; start doing or dealing with. 2 undertake the control or reform of (a person). take into account see ACCOUNT. take it 1 (often foll. by that + clause) assume (I take it that you have finished). 2 colloq. endure a difficulty or hardship in a specified way (took it badly). take it easy see EASY. take it from me (or take my word for it) I can assure you. take it ill resent it. take it into one's head see HEAD. take it on one (or oneself) (foll. by to + infin.) venture or presume. take it or leave it (esp. in imper.) an expression of indifference or impatience about another's decision after making an offer. take it out of 1 exhaust the strength of. 2 have revenge on. take it out on relieve one's frustration by attacking or treating harshly. take one's leave of see LEAVE(2). take a lot of (or some) doing be hard to do. take a person's name in vain see VAIN. take off 1 a remove (clothing) from one's or another's body. b remove or lead away. 2 deduct (part of an amount). 3 depart, esp. hastily (took off in a fast car). 4 colloq. mimic humorously. 5 jump from the ground. 6 become airborne. 7 (of a scheme, enterprise, etc.) become successful or popular. 8 have (a period) away from work. take-off 1 the act of becoming airborne. 2 an act of mimicking. 3 a place from which one jumps. take oneself off go away. take on 1 undertake (work etc.). 2 engage (an employee). 3 be willing or ready to meet (an adversary in sport, argument, etc., esp. a stronger one). 4 acquire (a new meaning etc.). 5 colloq. show strong emotion. take orders see ORDER. take out 1 remove from within a place; extract. 2 escort on an outing. 3 get (a licence or summons etc.) issued. 4 US = take away 3. 5 Bridge remove (a partner or a partner's call) from a suit by bidding a different one or no trumps. 6 murder or destroy. take a person out of himself or herself make a person forget his or her worries. take over 1 succeed to the management or ownership of. 2 take control. 3 Printing transfer to the next line. take-over n. the assumption of control (esp. of a business); the buying-out of one company by another. take part see part. take place see PLACE. take a person's point see POINT. take shape assume a distinct form; develop into something definite. take sides see SIDE. take stock see STOCK. take the sun see SUN. take that! an exclamation accompanying a blow etc. take one's time not hurry. take to 1 begin or fall into the habit of (took to smoking). 2 have recourse to. 3 adapt oneself to. 4 form a liking for. take to heart see HEART. take to one's heels see HEEL(1). take to pieces see PIECE. take the trouble see TROUBLE. take up 1 become interested or engaged in (a pursuit). 2 adopt as a protégé. 3 occupy (time or space). 4 begin (residence etc.). 5 resume after an interruption. 6 interrupt or question (a speaker). 7 accept (an offer etc.). 8 shorten (a garment). 9 lift up. 10 absorb (sponges take up water). 11 take (a person) into a vehicle. 12 pursue (a matter etc.) further. take a person up on accept (a person's offer etc.). take up with begin to associate with. takable adj. (also takeable).
[ OE tacan f. ON taka ]