Definition of take#up in English English dictionary
- take
- An act of taking
- take
- To get into one's possession
- take
- To choose
I'll take the blue plates.
- take
- To enroll (in a class, or a course of study)
I plan to take math, physics, literature and flower arrangement this semester.
- take
- To fight or attempt to fight somebody. (See also take on.)
Don't try to take that guy. He's bigger than you.
- take
- To catch the ball; especially for the wicket-keeper to catch the ball after the batsman has missed or edged it
- take
- To assume or interpret to be
He was often taken to be a man of means.
- take
- To grasp with the hands
- take
- An attempt to record a scene
Act seven, scene three, take two.
- take
- To carry, particularly to a particular destination
I'll take the plate with me.
- take
- A (1) profit, (2) reward, (3) bribe, illegal payoff or unethical kickback
3) The mayor is on the take.
- take
- A catch of the ball, especially by the wicket-keeper
- take
- To last or expend
I estimate the trip will take about ten minutes.
- take
- To support or carry without failing or breaking
That truck bed will only take two tons.
- take
- To have sex forcefully with, possibly without consent
The rapist took his victims in dark alleys.
- take
- To consider as an instance or example
I've had a lot of problems recently. Take last Monday. The car broke down on the way to work. Then ...etc.
- take
- To use
This camera takes 35mm film.
- take
- To deliver, give (something); to entrust
Jesus perceaved there wylynes, and sayde: Why tempte ye me ye ypocrytes? lett me se the tribute money. And they toke hym a peny.
- take
- To ingest medicine, drugs, etc
I take aspirin every day to thin my blood.
- take
- To gain a position by force
After a bloody battle, they were able to take the city.
- take
- An interpretation or view
What’s your take on this issue, Fred?.
- take
- To become
She took sick with the flu.
- take
- To accept
We take all major credit cards.
- take
- To not swing at a pitch
He’ll probably take this one.
- take
- Something that is taken
- take
- To require
Finishing this on schedule will take a lot of overtime.
- take
- A facial gesture in response to an event
I did a take when I saw the new car in the driveway.
- take
- A catch
- take
- To stick, persist, thrive or remain
I started some tomato seeds last spring, but they didn't take.
- take
- To capture using a photographic camera
The photographer took a picture of our family.
- take
- To endure or cope with
I can take the noise, but I can't take the smell.
- take
- To grab and move to oneself
I’ll take that plate off the table.
- take
- To participate in, undergo, or experience
I had to take a pee.
- take
- To tighten (take up) a belaying rope. Often used imperatively
- take French leave
- (derogatory) To leave unannounced
- take French leave
- to desert. to go AWOL
- take a French leave
- Alternative spelling of take French leave
- take a back seat
- To be second to someone or something; to be less important or have a lower priority
But as with most kids, politics took a backseat to daily life. — My Life by Bill Clinton.
- take a bath
- To bathe
She told the children to take a bath and wash off the mud and grime.
- take a bath
- To lose a large amount of money in an investment
Shareholders took a bath when the company went bankrupt.
- take a bead on
- To aim a gun at something
- take a bite
- To eat a quick, light snack
- take a bow
- To accept applause at the end of a performance in a theatre. Often this includes actually bowing to the audience
- take a break
- To rest; to temporarily discontinue a specified activity
She took a break from studying to eat a snack.
- take a breather
- To take a break; to pause or relax briefly
Why don't we stop and take a breather before we continue?.
- take a bullet
- To purposely receive a gunshot that was intended for another
- take a chance
- To risk; to try something risky
When we did not use the X-ray, if we broke a piece of root off in extracting a tooth, we took a chance, left it in, and expected it to work out.
- take a chill pill
- to relax or calm down
My boss needs to take a chill pill and quit shouting at us.
- take a crack at
- To attempt or try
I don't really know where to begin, but I guess I can take a crack at it and see how I do.
- take a crap
- To defecate
- take a dim view of
- To dislike; to regard with skepticism, disbelief, disfavor, etc
Philip takes a dim view of people calling him Flip.
- take a dive
- To lose or fail intentionally
- take a dive
- To feign a knockout in order to lose intentionally
- take a dump
- To defecate
- take a gamble
- To risk; to try something risky
He really took a gamble when he left his job to become a writer. But it paid off in the end.
- take a gander
- To take a look; to check or examine
They all went downtown to take a gander at the new shops that opened there.
- take a grab
- to mark the football, especially overhead
Footyheads supporting a variety of clubs actually breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the game didn’t have to stop for seven minutes seventeen seconds every time Matthew took a grab within kicking distance.
- take a grab
- to attempt to snatch or seize
He drew near enough to take a grab at her foot.
- take a hike
- To go hiking
- take a hike
- Used to tell someone to go away
- take a hike
- To go away; to leave or depart
I wish that pest would just take a hike.
- take a hint
- To understand an indirect suggestion, and to act on it
- take a joke
- To accept a joke at one's expense
- take a knife to a gunfight
- Alternative form of bring a knife to a gunfight
- take a leaf out of someone's book
- To adopt an idea or practice of another person
- take a leak
- To urinate
- take a licking
- To suffer a defeat or a beating
- take a licking and keep on ticking
- To be tough; to have endurance, to have the capacity to absorb stress or damage, but still be able to function
But the car amazed him. It kept going. And that too struck him as funny. Takes a licking, keeps on ticking.
- take a load off
- To go from a standing position to a sitting one
- take a long walk on a short pier
- Used to tell someone to go away, or that their request will not be met
- take a look
- To examine or observe
Can you take a look at the engine to see what's wrong?.
- take a number
- Recognize that many others are in the same situation; recognize that one's concerns are not of high priority; be prepared to wait
Even if they did decide to prosecute, the Justice Department would have to take a number and stand in a very long line.
- take a picture
- To photographically capture an image
- take a picture, it will last longer
- an ironic statement said after being stared at for a long time
Byron wasn't aware he was staring as long as he was. His manager saw him and gathered all the girls behind the counter together and had them stare at Byron. Finally she said, Byron, take a picture; it will last longer. Byron was startled out of his daydream and the girls all laughed at him.
- take a powder
- To leave in a hurry; run away; scram; depart without taking leave or notifying anyone, often with a connotation of avoiding something unpleasant or shirking responsibility
Go on, now. Scram. Take a powder. And don't come back till people on the street start wishing you a good afternoon.
- take a risk
- To do something risky
- take a seat
- To sit down; to become seated, to sit
- take a shine to
- To be attracted to someone
- take a shit
- To defecate
Man, I have to take a shit real bad.
- take a shot in the dark
- To try on something without having any knowledge about the subject
I didn't study for the test and took a shot in the dark.
- take a spill
- to trip or fall
He took a spill and scraped his knee.
- take a spin
- to go for a ride; especially, to try riding or driving something
Would you like to take a spin on my new bike?.
- take a stab at
- To attempt or try
Would you like to take a stab at explaining the theory?.
- take a stab at
- To guess
I'll take a stab at the answer, but I don't really know for sure.
- take a stand
- To assert an opinion or viewpoint; to defend one's point of view or beliefs
There will come a time when you'll need to take a stand for the changes you want.
- take a tumble
- To fall off something, or down something
Prince Charles spent the night in the hospital after he took a tumble off his horse yesterday while playing polo and briefly lost consciousness.
- take a tumble
- To fall in price or value
Acme Industries shares took a tumble yesterday to the lowest value since 2001.
- take a whizz
- To urinate
- take a wicket
- to get a batsman out
- take aback
- To surprise or shock; to discomfit
The bad news took us aback.
- take aback
- Of a ship: to catch it with the sails aback suddenly
- take action
- To act; to act positively and decisively to resolve a problem
- take advantage
- To make use of something
- take advantage
- To profit from a situation
She took advantage of the economic crisis to exchange some money.
- take advantage of
- To exploit
She took advantage of his desparation.
- take advantage of
- To make use of
He took advantage of the swimming pool every day of his visit.
- take after
- To resemble (a parent or ancestor) in appearance or habit
She takes after her grandmother with her wide eyes and quiet disposition.
- take after
- to follow someone's example
- take against
- To stop liking someone. Become unfriendly
- take against
- He took against me when I was promoted over him
- take aim
- To position oneself and/or one's weapon so as to be aimed specifically at a chosen mark or target (which is indicated after 'at')
He took aim at the prize bird meticulously and shot the cock from the distant flock with a single shot.
- take apart
- to soundly defeat someone, or a team
And besides, I was also enjoying the way you took them apart. You know, arguing with them like you did.
- take apart
- to move someone away from others to be able to talk to, or give them something in private
then went close up to him, and took him apart into a dark corner. I say, he began, with a thoughtful brow, haven't I seen you before?.
- take apart
- to dismantle something into it's component pieces
I carefully took the clock mechanism apart to clean it.
- take apart
- to criticise someone
For nearly an hour, I took them apart for failing to understand, connect with, empathize with, and listen to the American people.
- take away
- This word needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}
- take away
- To leave a memory or impression in one's mind that you think about later
I took away the impression that the play was under rehearsed.
- take away
- To prevent, or limit, someone from being somewhere, or from doing something
Using the internet so much can take you away from your studies.
- take away
- To remove something and put it in a different place
Mother took our plates away and came back with some fruit for us to eat.
- take away
- To remove something, either material or abstract, so that a person no longer has it
The new law will take away some important rights from immigrant residents.
- take away
- To subtract or diminish something
If I have five apples and you take away two, how many do I have left?.
- take away
- To make someone leave a place and go somewhere else. Usually not with the person's consent
I'm taking you away to the country for a rest. It's for your own good!.
- take away from
- To make something seem not so good or interesting
Even the rain couldn't take away from the excitement of the match.
- take back
- To regain possession of something
The wedding is off, and he has taken back the ring.
- take back
- To retract an earlier statement
No, you are not fat, I take it all back.
- take back
- To return something
Take back faulty goods to the shop where you bought them.
- take back
- To cause to remember some past event or time
That tune takes me back to my childhood.
- take back
- To resume a relationship
She has forgiven him, and taken him back.
- take by storm
- To rapidly gain popularity in a place
Beatlemania took England and Europe by storm and proceeded to inundate American teenagers.
- take by storm
- To capture by force
The soldiers took the castle by storm.
- take care
- To be cautious, careful or prudent
- take care
- good-bye (literally, take care of yourself)
- take care
- To mind, or be in charge of something
- take care of
- To deal with, handle
Can somebody take care of the customers while I clean this mess?.
- take care of
- To look after, to provide care for
My elderly mother needs to be taken care of.
- take care of
- To kill
In the motion picture The Godfather gangster Virgil Sollozzo took care of Luca Brasi by having him strangled.
- take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves
- If you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things
Yes, it sounds on the melodramatic side,’ he said cheerfully, ‘but in wartime you can't be too careful about the smallest detail. Think of it as along the lines of taking care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves.’.
- take charge
- to assume control or responsibility
- take control
- to take charge, to assume control
- take courage
- To be resolute in difficult circumstances
- take down
- To write a note. Usually to record something that is said
If you have a pen, you can take down my phone number.
- take down
- To remove something from a hanging position
We need to take down the curtains to be cleaned.
- take down
- To remove something from a wall or similar vertical surface to which it is fixed
He took down the picture and replaced it with the framed photograph.
- take down
- To remove a temporary structure such as scaffolding
When everything else is packed, we can take down the tent.
- take down
- To lower an item of clothing without removing it
The doctor asked me to take down my trousers.
- take down a peg
- Alternative form of pull down a peg
- take effect
- to become active; to become effective
The medication won't begin to take effect for 3-4 hours.
- take exception
- To take offense; to object or protest
I think he took exception to the joke about environmentalists.
- take exception to
- To be offended by; to consider offensive.“” in Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898).“exception” in Charlton Laird, Webster's New World Thesaurus, third edition, Simon and Schuster (2003), ISBN 978-0-7434-7071-1, .“take exception to” in Ilo Stefanllari, English-Albanian Dictionary of Idioms, Hippocrene Books (2000), ISBN 978-0-7818-0783-8,
Upset, about 20 Kuala Lumpur-based judges met on 25 March and decided that Salleh should write to the king explaining their position. The king apparently took exception to the letter or to the manner in which it was sent.
- take exception to
- To object to; to disagree with
- take five
- to break something up
Hey, stop fighting! Take five. people!.
- take five
- to take a five-minute break from some activity, take a short break from some activity
- take flight
- to flee
The criminals took flight as soon as they heard the sirens.
- take flight
- To fly; to become aloft, to become airborne; to take off (the ground)
Though the bird is still young, in a day or two it will spread its wing and take flight for the first time.
- take for granted
- To give little attention to or to underestimate the value of, to fail to appreciate
He had fiercely championed loveless ladies entering frustrated middle age, the married woman whose husband took her for granted and seldom into his arms.
- take for granted
- To assume something to be true without verification or proof
Let it be considered a delicate intimation on the part of the historian that he is going back to the town in which Oliver Twist was born; the reader taking it for granted that there are good and substantial reasons for making the journey.
- take guard
- to mark a point on the popping crease in front of his wicket so that he knows where it is behind him; to guard
- take heart
- be courageous; regain one's courage
Take heart, help will arrive shortly and everything will be fine.
- take heed
- To pay attention
The king spoke and the lords took heed.
- take hold
- to take root, become established
Then the highly virulent mental germs skillfully inoculated took a hold in the subconscious mind of European humanity; the disease developed rapidly, spread like wild fire, and raged unabated throughout the width and length of the central empires.
- take hold
- to grasp, seize
- take hostage
- To take custody or possession of a person as security for performance against a treaty, a pledge, or a demand, especially now an extra-legal demand
- take ill
- To become ill
- take in
- To shorten (a garment) or make it smaller
Try taking the skirt in a little around the waist.
- take in
- To receive into your home for the purpose of processing for a fee
In hard times, some women would take in washing and others dressmaking repairs.
- take in
- To foster or adopt a child informally
- take in
- To deceive; to hoodwink
- take in
- To attend a showing of
take in a movie.
- take in
- To subscribe to home delivery of
Well, then, what newspapers do you read? I am glad to see any of them.
- take in
- To absorb or comprehend
The news is a lot to take in right now.
- take into account
- To consider or regard; to include (as in an estimate or plan) or pay attention to; to notice
His plan did not take into account the possibility of rain.
- take inventory
- to assess a situation
- take inventory
- to compile an inventory; to take stock; to inventory
- take issue with
- To disagree with something, and to raise objections to it
- take it away
- To begin, especially used to launch a performance of some sort (usually imperative and/or exclamatory)
I'd like to introduce Mumbo the Magnificent and his dancing parrot, Tiddles. Take it away, Mumbo!.
- take it easy
- Immediately calm yourself down; your state of panic does not help
Take it easy. It's just a wiki.
- take it easy
- To relax or rest
I'm going to stay home Saturday and take it easy.
- take it easy
- A farewell (for parting or closing)
I'm going home now. Take it easy.
- take it from me
- believe me, rest assured
Take it from me, if you can't learn how to communicate with each other, your marriage will never work.
- take it in turns
- To take turns
- take it like a man
- To respond to pain, hardship, adversity, or emotional distress in a typical or stereotypical masculine manner, especially without crying, complaining, or becoming emotional
There was no moping around the house with a depressed disposition when one of my romances turned sour because, as far as my love life went, father expected me to take it like a man.
- take it on the chin
- To accept a difficult situation without complaining
- take it or leave it
- It is said when a situation has to be accepted without change
Even when you are making your final offer, presenting the deal as a take it or leave it proposition is a mistake.
- take it out on
- To unleash one's anger on
Don't take it out on your husband if you had trouble with your boss at work.
- take it outside
- To take a fight to a more violent level, especially by moving it to an outside place
If you want a piece of me, let's take it outside!.
- take it to the bank
- said to emphasize that something is known for sure
- take it up the arse
- Alternative spelling of take it up the ass
- take it up the ass
- To be the recipient of anal sex
She doesn't take it up the ass.
- take it up the ass
- To be cheated or treated unfairly
I guess I'm just going to have to bend over and take it up the ass.
- take its toll
- To affect, especially negatively; to damage or degrade; to cause destruction
Heavy smoking and drinking will take its toll on a person's health.
- take kindly
- to accept or condone
We don't take kindly to your type around here.
- take leave of one's senses
- To go crazy; to stop behaving rationally
- take liberties
- to behave disrespectfully, especially to make unwanted sexual advances
- take life as it comes
- Alternative form of take things as they come
- take lying down
- to endure without complaint or protest
I don't know what they expect, but I am certainly not going to take this lying down.
- take me now
- Indicates the speaker has become sexually aroused, and is ready to receive sexual intercourse from the interlocutor
- take no for an answer
- To accept a disappointing response
- take no notice of
- to ignore
There was a person called Nana who ruled the nursery. Sometimes she took no notice of the playthings lying about, and sometimes, for no reason whatever, she went swooping about like a great wind and hustled them away in cupboards.
- take note
- To pay attention; to take notice; to note
- take notes
- To record one's observations for future reference
- take notice
- To notice; to take note
- take off
- To depart
Take off, loser!.
- take off
- To leave the ground and begin flight; to ascend into the air
The plane has been cleared to take off from runway 3.
- take off
- To imitate, often in a satirical manner
They love to take off all the politicians' mannerisms.
- take off
- to absent oneself from work or other responsibility, especially with permission
He decided to let his mother take a night off from cooking, so he took her and his siblings out to dinner.
- take off
- To quantify
I'll take off the concrete and steel for this construction project.
- take off
- To remove
Tomorrow the doctor will take the cast off her arm.
- take off
- To become successful, to flourish
The message is now the medium – that is powerful and means products can take off practically all by themselves..
- take offence
- to feel, and show, resentment at another's actions or words
- take offense
- To feel (and usually to show) resentment at another's actions or words
- take on
- To assume responsibility for
I'll take on the project if no one else will.
- take on
- To acquire, bring in, or introduce
The ship took on cargo in Norfolk yesterday.
- take on
- To attempt to fight or compete
I don't recommend taking on that bully, since he's bigger than you are.
- take on
- To begin to have or exhibit
In the dark, the teddy bear took on the appearance of a fearsome monster.
- take on board
- To accept a new idea or piece of advice, and act accordingly
Schools and colleges will have to take on board the views of young people and parents in their area.
- take on faith
- To accept something without seeing evidence supporting it, by trust or confidence
Their own parents, for example, will be able to regale them with tales about how they simply took it on faith that democracy was the best possible form of government, and this blinded them from even considering the possibility that Washington was full of idiots and crooks.
- take one for the team
- To accept some chore or hardship for the sake of one's friends or colleagues
- take one's ball and go home
- To cease participating in an activity that has turned to one's disadvantage, especially out of spite, or in a way that prevents others from participating as well
I don't play board games with John any more. Whenever he starts losing, he takes his ball and goes home.
- take one's best shot
- Alternative form of give it one's best shot
- take one's chance
- To act in a manner dependent on luck
- take one's eye off the ball
- To lose one's concentration on what is most important
One of the keys to success in business is never to take your eye off the ball.
- take one's hat off to
- To publicly praise or thank
- take one's hat off to
- To remove one's hat as a sign of respect to
- take one's leave
- say goodbye
- take one's lumps
- To receive physical abuse and to survive
When frustrated tacklers finally do catch up with him, Arnett knows how to take his lumps. If I hit the ground tensely, rigidly, and two tons of angry linemen landed on top of me, they'd break every bone in my body..
- take one's lumps
- To endure through criticism or other adversity
As is the case with so many outspoken civil libertarians, Chafee took his lumps. He was strongly criticized by several Harvard Law School graduates.
- take one's own life
- To kill oneself; to commit suicide
- take one's time
- To go about something slowly and carefully
Take your time — there's no need to rush.
- take one's time
- To take more time to do something than is considered acceptable
You took your time getting here!.
- take or pay
- A contractual obligation either to take delivery of contracted goods or services or to make a specified payment
