n. 25B6; verb
she took his hand : LAY HOLD OF, get hold of; grasp, grip, clasp, clutch, grab.
he took an envelope from his pocket : REMOVE, pull, draw, withdraw, extract, fish.
a passage taken from my book : EXTRACT, quote, cite, excerpt, derive, abstract, copy, cull.
she took a little wine : DRINK, imbibe; consume, swallow, eat, ingest.
many prisoners were taken : CAPTURE, seize, catch, arrest, apprehend, take into custody; carry off, abduct.
someone's taken my car : STEAL, remove, appropriate, make off with, pilfer, purloin; informal filch, swipe, snaffle; Brit. informal pinch, nick.
take four from the total : SUBTRACT, deduct, remove; discount; informal knock off, minus.
all the seats had been taken : OCCUPY, use, utilize, fill, hold; reserve, engage; informal bag.
I have taken a room nearby : RENT, lease, hire, charter; reserve, book, engage.
I took the job : ACCEPT, undertake.
I'd take this over the other option : PICK, choose, select; prefer, favour, opt for, plump for, vote for.
take, for instance, the English : CONSIDER, contemplate, ponder, think about, weigh up, mull over, examine, study, meditate over, ruminate about.
he takes The Observer : SUBSCRIBE TO, buy, read.
she took his temperature : ASCERTAIN, determine, establish, measure, find out, discover; calculate, compute, evaluate, rate, assess, appraise, gauge.
he took notes : WRITE, note (down), jot (down), scribble, scrawl, record, register, document, minute.
I took it back to London : BRING, carry, bear, transport, convey, move, transfer, shift, ferry; informal cart, tote.
the priest took her home : ESCORT, accompany, help, assist, show, lead, guide, see, usher, convey.
he took the train : TRAVEL ON/BY, journey on, go via; use.
the town takes its name from the lake : DERIVE, get, obtain, come by, acquire, pick up.
she took the prize for best speaker : RECEIVE, obtain, gain, get, acquire, collect, accept, be awarded; secure, come by, win, earn, pick up, carry off; informal land, bag, net, scoop.
I took the chance to postpone it : ACT ON, take advantage of, capitalize on, use, exploit, make the most of, leap at, jump at, pounce on, seize, grasp, grab, accept.
he took great pleasure in painting : DERIVE, draw, acquire, obtain, get, gain, extract, procure; experience, undergo, feel.
Liz took the news badly : RECEIVE, respond to, react to, meet, greet; deal with, cope with.
do you take me for a fool? : REGARD AS, consider to be, view as, see as, believe to be, reckon to be, imagine to be, deem to be.
I take it that you are hungry : ASSUME, presume, suppose, imagine, expect, reckon, gather, dare say, trust, surmise, deduce, guess, conjecture, fancy, suspect.
I take your point : UNDERSTAND, grasp, get, comprehend, apprehend, see, follow; accept, appreciate, acknowledge, sympathize with, agree with.
Shirley was rather taken with him : CAPTIVATE, enchant, charm, delight, attract, beguile, enthral, entrance, infatuate, dazzle; amuse, divert, entertain; informal tickle someone's fancy.
I can't take much more : ENDURE, bear, tolerate, stand, put up with, abide, stomach, accept, allow, countenance, support, shoulder; formal brook; archaic suffer.
applicants must take a test : CARRY OUT, do, complete, conduct, perform, execute, discharge, accomplish, fulfil.
I took English and French : STUDY, learn, have lessons in; take up, pursue; Brit. read; informal do.
the journey took six hours : LAST, continue for, go on for, carry on for; require, call for, need, necessitate, entail, involve.
it would take an expert to know that : REQUIRE, need, necessitate, demand, call for, entail, involve.
I take size three shoes : WEAR, use; require, need.
the dye did not take : BE EFFECTIVE, take effect, hold, root, be productive, be effectual, be useful; work, operate, succeed, function; formal be efficacious.
give, free, add, refuse, miss.
25B6; noun
the whalers' commercial take : CATCH, haul, bag, yield, net.
the state's tax take : REVENUE, income, gain, profit; takings, proceeds, returns, receipts, winnings, pickings, earnings, spoils; purse.
a clapperboard for the start of each take : SCENE, sequence, (film) clip.
a wry take on gender issues : VIEW OF, reading of, version of, interpretation of, understanding of, account of, analysis of, approach to.
25A0; take after RESEMBLE, look like; remind one of, make one think of, recall, conjure up, suggest, evoke; informal favour, be a chip off the old block, be the spitting image of.
25A0; take against TAKE A DISLIKE TO, feel hostile towards, view with disfavour, look askance at.
25A0; take something apart
we took the machine apart : DISMANTLE, pull to pieces, pull apart, disassemble, break up; tear down, demolish, destroy, wreck.
(informal) the scene was taken apart by the director. : See criticize .
25A0; take someone back
the dream took me back to Vienna : EVOKE, remind one of, conjure up, summon up; echo, suggest.
I will never take that girl back : BE RECONCILED TO, forgive, pardon, excuse, exonerate, absolve; let bygones be bygones, bury the hatchet.
25A0; take something back
I take back every word : RETRACT, withdraw, renounce, disclaim, unsay, disavow, recant, repudiate; formal abjure.
I must take the keys back : RETURN, bring back, give back, restore.
25A0; take something down WRITE DOWN, note down, jot down, set down, record, commit to paper, register, draft, document, minute, pen.
25A0; take someone in
she took in paying guests : ACCOMMODATE, board, house, feed, put up, admit, receive; harbour.
you were taken in by a hoax : DECEIVE, delude, hoodwink, mislead, trick, dupe, fool, cheat, defraud, swindle, outwit, gull, hoax, bamboozle; informal con, put one over on.
25A0; take something in
she could hardly take in the news : COMPREHEND, understand, grasp, follow, absorb; informal get.
this route takes in some great scenery : INCLUDE, encompass, embrace, contain, comprise, cover, incorporate, comprehend, hold.
25A0; take someone in hand CONTROL, be in charge of, dominate, master; reform, improve, correct, change, rehabilitate.
25A0; take something in hand DEAL WITH, apply oneself to, get to grips with, set one's hand to, grapple with, take on, attend to, see to, sort out, take care of, handle, manage; informal get stuck into.
25A0; take it out of someone EXHAUST, drain, enervate, tire, fatigue, wear out, weary, debilitate; informal knacker, poop.
25A0; take off
the horse took off at great speed : RUN AWAY/OFF, flee, abscond, take flight, decamp, leave, go, depart, make off, bolt, take to one's heels, escape; informal split, clear off, skedaddle, vamoose.
the plane took off : BECOME AIRBORNE, take to the air, take wing; lift off, blast off.
the idea really took off : SUCCEED, do well, become popular, catch on, prosper, flourish, thrive, boom.
25A0; take someone off MIMIC, impersonate, imitate, ape, parody, mock, caricature, satirize, burlesque, lampoon, ridicule; informal spoof, send up.
25A0; take oneself off WITHDRAW, retire, leave, exit, depart, go away, quit; informal clear off.
25A0; take on (Brit. informal) don't take on so! : GET UPSET, make a fuss, get excited, overreact; informal lose one's cool.
25A0; take someone on
there was no challenger to take him on : COMPETE AGAINST, oppose, challenge, confront, face, fight, vie with, contend with, stand up to.
we took on extra staff : ENGAGE, hire, employ, enrol, enlist, sign up; informal take on board.
25A0; take something on
he took on more responsibility : UNDERTAKE, accept, assume, shoulder, acquire, carry, bear.
the study took on political meaning : ACQUIRE, assume, come to have.
25A0; take one's time GO SLOWLY, dally, dawdle, delay, linger, drag one's feet, waste time, kill time; informal dilly-dally; archaic tarry.
25A0; take someone out
he asked if he could take her out : GO OUT WITH, escort, partner, accompany, go with; romance, woo; informal date, see, go steady with; dated court.
(informal) the sniper took them all out : KILL, murder, assassinate, dispatch, execute, finish off, eliminate, exterminate, terminate; informal do in, do away with, bump off, rub out, mow down, top; poetic/literary slay.
25A0; take something over ASSUME CONTROL OF, take charge of, take command of.
25A0; take to
he took to carrying his money in his sock : MAKE A HABIT OF, resort to, turn to, have recourse to; start, commence.
Ruth took to him instantly : LIKE, get on with, be friendly towards; informal take a shine to.
the dog has really taken to racing : BECOME GOOD AT, develop an ability for; like, enjoy.
25A0; take something up
he took up abstract painting : ENGAGE IN, practise; begin, start, commence.
the meetings took up all her time : CONSUME, fill, absorb, use, occupy; waste, squander.
her cousin took up the story : RESUME, recommence, restart, carry on, continue, pick up, return to.
he took up their offer of a job : ACCEPT, say yes to, agree to, adopt; formal accede to.
take the skirt up an inch : SHORTEN, turn up; raise, lift.
25A0; take up with BECOME FRIENDS WITH, go around with, fall in with, string along with, get involved with, start seeing; informal knock around with, hang out with.