take

Etymology

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 *teh₂g- (“to touch, take”) (see there for more). Gradually displaced Middle English nimen ("to take"; see nim), from Old English niman (“to take”). Cognate with 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”). Compare tackle. Unrelated to Lithuanian tèkti (“to receive, be granted”).

verb

1. (transitive) To get into one's hands, possession, or control, with or without force.
   1. (transitive) To seize or capture.
      take the guards prisoner
      take prisoners
      After a bloody battle, they were able to take the city.
   2. (transitive) To catch or get possession of (fish or game).
      took ten catfish in one afternoon
   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
   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 given or bestowed, awarded, etc.).
   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 credit?
      The vending machine only takes bills, it doesn't take coins.
   2. (transitive) To accept and follow (advice, etc.).
      take my advice
   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).
      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. 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
3. (transitive) To remove.
   1. (transitive) To remove or end by death; to 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.
      Take one from three and you are left with two.
4. (transitive) To have sex with.
   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. 1990, Pat Booth, Malibu, Crown Publishers, Inc., page 222
   I wonder what it would feel like to take two cocks at the same time. 16 September 2002, INCESTOR, “STORY: "Horny Peeping Sister" (6/9) (mf, voy, family) 566710”, in alt.sex.stories (Usenet)
   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. 1967 [1945], Georges Simenon, translated by Jean Stewart, Monsieur Monde Vanishes, New York, N.Y., London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, page 126
   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. 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, page 8
   And the queen takes the bishop...this is turning out to be quite the royal wedding! [winks at the camera] 3 July 2014, Mock the Week, season 13, episode 4, Susan Calman (actor)
5. (transitive) To defeat (someone or something) in a fight.
   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!
6. (transitive) To grasp or grip.
   He took her hand in his.
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.
8. (transitive) To adopt (select) as one's own.
   She took his side in every argument.
   take a stand on the important issues
9. (transitive) To carry or lead (something or someone).
   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.
   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.
   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.
   5. (reflexive) To go.
      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. 2007, Edwin B. Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, New York, N.Y.: BlueBridge, published 2008, page 59
10. (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.
11. (obsolete) To visit; to include in a course of travel.
    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. 1677, William Penn, A Collection of the Works of William Penn:[…], volume I, London: […] J. Sowle,[…], published 1726, page 60
    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. 1793, John Whitehead, The Life of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A.[…], Dublin: […] John Jones,[…], published 1805, page 441
12. (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.
    1. (transitive) To obtain or receive regularly by (paid) subscription.
       They took two magazines.
       I used to take The Sunday Times.
13. (transitive) To consume.
    1. (transitive) To receive (medicine) 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.
    2. (transitive) To partake of (food or drink); to consume.
       The general took dinner at seven o'clock.
14. (transitive) To experience, undergo, or endure.
    1. (transitive) To undergo; to put oneself into, to be subjected to.
       take sun-baths
       take a shower
       She made the decision to take chemotherapy.
    2. (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
       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. 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D. Appleton and Company, page 18
    3. (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.
       […] 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. 11 September 2022, Drachinifel, 56:34 from the start, in The Drydock - Episode 213 (Part 1), YouTube, archived from the original on 2022-09-12
    4. (transitive) To suffer; to endure (a hardship or damage).
       The ship took a direct hit and was destroyed.
       Her career took a hit.
    5. (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.
15. (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.
    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. 2011, Thomas M. Bloch, Many Happy Returns: The Story of Henry Bloch, America's Tax Man, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., page 86
16. (transitive) To regard in a specified way.
    He took the news badly.
17. (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
18. (transitive) To understand (especially in a specified way).
    Don't take my comments as an insult.
    if she took my meaning
    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 1853 January, The American Journal of Science and Arts, volume 15, number 43, →ISSN, page 125
19. (transitive) To accept or be given (rightly or wrongly); 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.
20. (transitive) To believe, to accept the statements of.
    take her word for it
    take him at his word
21. (transitive) To assume or suppose; to reckon; to regard or consider.
    take it from her comments she won't be there.
    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.
    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. 1950, E[wdin] Basil Redlich, The Early Traditions of Genesis, London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., page 108
22. (transitive) To draw, derive, or deduce (a meaning from something).
    I'm not sure what moral to take from that story.
23. (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"
24. (transitive) To catch or contract (an illness, etc.).
    took a chill
25. (transitive) To come upon or catch (in a particular state or situation).
26. (transitive) To captivate or charm; to gain or secure the interest or affection of.
    took her fancy
    took her attention
    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. 1839, Thomas Moore, The Epicurean: A Tale, London: John Macrone, page 33
27. (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
28. (transitive, of a ship) To let in (water).
    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. 1972, Anne Sinai, Israel & the Arabs: Prelude to the Jewish State, New York, N.Y.: Facts on File, Inc., pages 107–108
29. (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.
    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. 15 January 1921, Millard's Review of the Far East, volume XV, number 7, →OCLC, page 357
    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. 2009, Rachel Hagger-Holt, Sarah Hagger-Holt, Living It Out, Norwich, Norfolk: Canterbury Press, page 82
30. (transitive) To proceed to fill.
    He took a seat in the front row.
31. (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.
32. (transitive) To fill or require: to last or expend (an amount of time).
    The trip will take about ten minutes.
33. (transitive) To avail oneself of; to exploit.
    He took that opportunity to leave France.
    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. 2000, Cameron Judd, The Overmountain Men: A Novel, Nashville, T.N.: Cumberland House, page 166
    He took the pause to allow himself time to begin to catalog all the surfaces he may have touched during the scuffle. 2001, Stephen White, The Program, Waterville, M.E.: Thorndike Press, page 365
34. (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.
35. (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
36. (transitive) To bind oneself by.
    he took the oath of office last night
37. (transitive) To move into.
    the witness took the stand
    the next team took the field
38. (transitive) To go into, through, or along.
    go down two blocks and take the next left
    take the path of least resistance
39. (transitive) To have and use one's recourse to.
    take cover/shelter/refuge
40. (transitive) To ascertain or determine by measurement, examination or inquiry.
    take her pulse / temperature / blood pressure
    take a census
41. (transitive) To write down; to get in, or as if in, writing.
    He took a mental inventory of his supplies.
    She took careful notes.
42. (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.
43. (transitive, dated) To take a picture, photograph, etc. of (a person, scene, etc.).
    The photographer will take you sitting down.
    to take a group/scene
44. (transitive) To obtain money from, especially by swindling.
    took me for ten grand
45. (transitive, now chiefly by enrolling in a class or course) To apply oneself to the study of.
    As a child, she took ballet.
    I plan to take math, physics, literature and flower arrangement this semester.
46. (transitive) To deal with.
    take matters as they arise
47. (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.
48. (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.
49. (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.
50. (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.
51. (intransitive) To engage, take hold or have effect.
    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 figurative) take root, take hold.
       not all grafts take
       I started some tomato seeds last spring, but they didn't take.
       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. 1884, S[tephen] B[leecker] Luce, Aaron Ward, Text-book of Seamanship.[…], New York, N.Y.: D. Van Nostrand, page 179
    3. (of a mechanical device) To catch; to engage.
       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. 2009, Sheldon Russell, The Yard Dog, New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, page 210
    4. (possibly dated) To win acceptance, favor or favorable reception; to charm people.
       Each Wit may praiſe it, for his own dear Sake, / And hint He writ it, if the Thing ſhowd take. 1716, [Joseph Addison], “Prologue”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), second edition (play), London: […] Jacob Tonſon[…], published 1741, unnumbered page
       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." 1967, Richard Martin Stern, The Kessler Legacy, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 103
52. (intransitive, copulative) To become; to be affected in a specified way.
    They took ill within 3 hours.
    She took sick with the flu.
53. (intransitive, possibly dated) To be able to be accurately or beautifully photographed.
    '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.' 1881, Jessie Fothergill, chapter IX, in Kith and Kin: A Novel, volume II, London: Robert Bentley and Son, page 259
54. (intransitive, dialectal, proscribed) An intensifier.
    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. 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
    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." 1875, Arthur Sketchley, Mrs. Brown at the Crystal Palace, London: George Routledge and Sons, page 100
    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. 1943, Max Brand [pseudonym; Frederick Schiller Faust], Silvertip's Trap, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, page 30
    […] 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." 1985, Darcy O'Brien, Two of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers, New York, N.Y., Scarborough, Ont.: New American Library, page 34
55. (transitive, obsolete) To deliver, bring, give (something) to (someone).
56. (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.
57. Used in phrasal verbs: take in, take off, take on, take out, take to, take something to, take up.
58. (obsolete, rare) To portray in a painting.