Meaning of take in English

As a special treat, I'll take you to my favourite tea-shop.
I had to get up early to take her to the airport.
If he gets any worse I'll take him to the doctor's.
Three days after the birth, Paul and Sandra took their precious bundle of joy home.
I took my two-year old nephew down to the beach with his bucket and spade.

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Taking someone somewhere or telling them the way

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take verb (TRANSPORT)

A2 [ T ]

to travel somewhere by using a particular form of transport or a particular vehicle, route, etc.:

I always take the train - it's less hassle than a car.

She took the 10.30 flight to Edinburgh.

If you take the road on the left, you'll come to the post office.

More examples

We took a bus to Mexico City.
From Heathrow, you can take a taxi.
I took the 6.30 train to Manchester.
Why don't you take the train to Paris?
We took a flight to Denver.

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Travelling

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take verb (NEED)

B2 [ T ]

to need:

Parachuting takes a lot of nerve.

Transitive verbs take a direct object.

[ + -ing verb ] His story took some believing (= was difficult to believe).

to wear a particular size of clothes or shoes:

What size shoes do you take?

A2 [ L only + noun ]

If something takes a particular time, that period is needed in order to complete it:

The cooking process only takes ten minutes.

[ + to infinitive ] How long does this paint take to dry?

[ + obj + noun ] It took us all day to drive home.

not take long

to act or happen over a short period of time:

I'm just going to the shops - I won't take long.

take time

to need a long time:

Broken bones always take time to heal.

More examples

They took two hours to discuss the plans and considered it time well spent.
It took a lot of courage to do what she did.
The insurance company took months to settle my claim.
The jury took four days to reach a verdict.
This recipe takes four cloves of garlic.

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Lacking things

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Wearing clothes

Spending time & time passing

Hurrying and doing things quickly

Lasting for a long time

take verb (MEASURE)

to measure something:

Nurses took my temperature and blood pressure.

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Measuring & weighing

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take verb (DRUG/MEDICINE)

to swallow or use a medicine or drug, especially in a regular way:

Take this medicine three times a day.

Do you think she takes drugs?

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Drugs - general words

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take verb (ACT)

B1 [ T ]

to do or perform:

Shelley is taking (= studying) economics at university.

UK The Archbishop took our service of thanksgiving.

UK Mr Marshall takes us for (= teaches us) physics.

B1 [ T ]

used with many nouns to make a verb phrase that is equal in meaning to the related verb:

I think we'll take a break (= we'll stop for a break) there.

If you're tired you should take a rest (= you should rest).

I always like to take a walk (= to walk) after lunch.

More examples

I usually take a nap after lunch.
Who takes this class on Tuesdays?
I agreed to take Nicola's aerobics class for her next week.
I'm going to take some French lessons.
After the next song, we'll take a break.

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Performing a function

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Acting and acts

take verb (THINK ABOUT)

B2 [ T ]

to think about something or someone in a particular way:

We're taking the bomb threats very seriously.

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Thinking and contemplating

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take verb (UNDERSTAND)

to understand something in a particular way:

I was just teasing him, but he took it the wrong way.

I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

She gave a nod, which we took to mean that she agreed.

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Understanding and comprehending

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take verb (REACTION)

B2 [ T ]

to have or come to have a particular feeling or opinion:

He doesn't take any interest in his children.

Don't take any notice of the cameras.

She takes offence too easily.

They took pity on the stray cat and fed it.

I take the view that fuel should be heavily taxed to reduce road use.

take sb by surprise (also take sb unawares)

to surprise someone:

The sudden noise took her by surprise.

More examples

She took offence when we offered to help her.
Don't take any notice of what they say.
She never took any notice of her critics.
He takes the view that children should not be allowed in pubs.
I took pity on her and bought her some clothes.

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Feelings - general words

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Expressing and asking opinions

Surprising and shocking

take verb (MONEY)

[ T ] mainly UK

(US usually take in)

to receive money from sales or as payment for entrance to an event:

The show took an astonishing $100,000 in its first week.

See also

takings

More examples

The restaurant took a lot of money that night.
How much do you usually take in an evening?

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Getting, receiving and accepting

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take verb (CATCH)

B2 [ T ]

to get possession of something or someone:

Rebels ambushed the train and took several prisoners.

UK The Liberals need just 200 more votes to take the seat from Labour.

With these wins, the Democrats have now taken the House back from the Republicans.

Centre-left parties look set to take power.

Adam, I'd like you to take control of the aircraft now.

More examples

His party took control from the Communists.
UK We'll take a lot of Labour's vote over the issue of fox hunting.
The terrorists have taken hundreds of hostages.
The soldiers were taken behind enemy lines.

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Capturing or taking possession of things

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take verb (WRITE)

B1 [ T ]

to write:

I hope you're all taking notes.

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Writing & typing

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take verb (PERFORM WELL)

[ I ]

to work or perform as expected:

These new plants haven't taken - they don't like this dry soil.

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Performing a function

Grammar

Phrases with take

We use take in a lot of phrases, especially with nouns. In these cases, the meaning of take depends on the noun: …

Take

Take means ‘move with something or someone from where the speaker or listener is to a different place’: …

Take: other meanings

Take can mean ‘remove without permission’: …

Bring, take and fetch

…

Bring

Bring means moving something or someone. The movement is either from where the listener is to where the speaker is, or from the speaker to the listener. …

Take

Take means movement with something or someone from where the speaker or listener is to a different place: …

Bring or take?

…

Fetch

Fetch means to go to another place to get something or someone and return with the thing or the person. We use it for people and things that are not here but that we need or are due to be here. We can usually use get instead of fetch: …

Bring, take and fetch: typical errors

…

Idioms

be like taking candy from a baby
can take it or leave it
I take it
if you take my meaning
point taken
take it upon yourself to do sth
take your time
take one (thing) at a time
take sth as it comes
take that!

More idioms

take the time
take a walk!
will not take no for an answer

Phrasal verbs

take sb aback
take after sb
take against sb
take sth apart
take sb apart
take sth away
take sth back
take sb back
take sb down
take sth down

More phrasal verbs

take

noun

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/teɪk/ us

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/teɪk/

take noun (MONEY)

[ U ]

money that is received from sales or as payment for entrance to an event:

The box office take was huge for the new show.

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Profits & losses

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take noun (FILM)

[ C ]

the filming of a scene (= small part of a film):

This scene needed ten takes before we felt it was right.

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Cinema - general words

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take noun (OPINION)

take on sth

an opinion about something:

We'd love to hear your take on this issue.

Synonyms

mentality
mindset
opinion
outlook (OPINION)
point of view
standpoint
view  (OPINION)
viewpoint

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Opinions, beliefs and points of view

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take noun (VERSION)

take on sth

a version of something that shows someone's attitude towards it:

The restaurant offers a new take on traditional French cooking.

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Categories and varieties

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Idiom

on the take

(Definition of take from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

take | American Dictionary

take

verb [ T ]

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/teɪk/

past tense took us/tʊk/

take verb [T] (MOVE)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to move something or someone from one place to another:

Please, take me with you!

It may rain, so take your umbrella.

The suitcases were taken to Madrid by mistake.

I thought I’d take her some chocolates.

I take home about $200 a week.

take verb [T] (REMOVE)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to remove something:

Here’s your pen – I took it by mistake.

A radio was taken from the car.

take someone’s life

To take someone’s life is to kill someone:

The fire took her life.

take verb [T] (ACCEPT)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to accept something, or to receive something willingly:

I tried to phone him, but he refused to take my call.

Does this restaurant take credit cards?

Take this medicine three times a day.

I can take three more people in my car.

It’s a girls’ school that has now started taking boys.

Bob took a lot of criticism for his decision.

I refuse to take responsibility for what’s happened.

take verb [T] (THINK OF)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to think of someone or understand something in a particular way; perceive:

[ + to infinitive ] I took him to be more honest than he really was.

The police are taking the robberies very seriously.

In the dim light I could have taken them for brothers.

I’m not going to forge his signature! What do you take me for?

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

Take is sometimes used to introduce an example of what you mean:

It’s been really busy. Take last week – we had meetings every day.

take verb [T] (HOLD)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to hold something:

He took my arm and led me to my seat.

Can you take this bag while I open the door?

take verb [T] (CATCH)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to catch, win, or get possession of something:

Rebels ambushed the train and took several prisoners.

My roses took first prize at the flower show.

take verb [T] (NEED)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to have as a necessary condition; need:

Parachuting takes a lot of nerve.

I take a size 9 shoe.

Transitive verbs take a direct object.

It didn’t take much persuasion to get her to go with us.

How long does this paint take to dry?

Broken bones always take time to mend.

takes forever

If something takes forever, it happens very slowly:

In rush-hour traffic, it takes forever to get home.

take verb [T] (ACT)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to do something:

I’ve started taking piano lessons.

The government urged both sides to take steps to end the strike.

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

Take is used with many nouns to make a verb phrase:

We can’t delay any longer – we have to take action (= to act).

In the evening I like to take a walk (= to walk).

If you’re tired, you need to take a nap (= to sleep).

take effect

to take effect means to start working:

The medicine should take effect quite quickly.

take turns

If you take turns, you and other people do the same thing, one after the other:

The mothers in our group take turns driving the children to school.

take verb [T] (MEASURE)

past participle taken us/ˈtei·kən/

to measure something:

Better take the baby’s temperature – she may have a fever.

take verb [T] (REACT)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to have or cause to have a particular feeling or opinion:

He takes little interest in current events.

She takes offense too easily.

take someone by surprise

To take someone by surprise means to do something that is completely unexpected:

His sudden proposal took her totally by surprise.

take verb [T] (CHEAT)

infml past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to cheat someone:

You paid $500 for that thing? I think you got taken.

take verb [T] (WRITE)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to write information provided by someone or something:

Take notes as you read.

Journalists took down every word he said during the interview.

take verb [T] (PHOTOGRAPH)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to make a photograph of someone or something:

We took lots of pictures of the new baby.

take verb [T] (TRAVEL ON)

past participle taken us/ˈteɪ·kən/

to travel on something to get from one place to another:

I always take the train.

Take the road on the left to get to my house.

Idioms

not take something lying down
take a deep breath
take a dim view of something
take advantage of something
take advantage of someone
take a hike
take a hint
take a joke
take a shine to
take a turn for the worse

More idioms

take someone/somewhere by storm
take care (of yourself)
take care of someone/something
take charge (of something)
take something for granted
take heart
take hold
take something in (your) stride
take something into account
take issue with someone/something
take it easy
take it or leave it
take its toll
take it upon yourself to do something
take notice (of something)
take (great) pains to do something
take part in something
take your pick
take place
take sides
something takes the cake
take stock (of something)
take the bull by the horns
take the initiative
take the plunge
take the time to do something
take the wraps off something
take your time
take someone to task for something
take something with a grain of salt
take someone’s word for it

Phrasal verbs

take someone back
take something off
take something out on someone
take someone through something
take something through something
take someone up on something
take something up with someone
take after someone
take apart something
take away something

More phrasal verbs

take back something
take down something
take down someone 
take down something
take in something
take in someone
take in something
take in someone
take in something
take in something
take off
take off
take off something
take on something
take on someone/something
take out something
take out someone
take out something/someone
take over (something)
take to something/someone
take to something
take to somewhere
take up something
take up something
take up something
take up something
take up with someone

take

noun

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/teɪk/

take noun (FILMING)

[ C ]

the filming of a small part of a movie:

That scene needed ten takes before they got it right.

take noun (MONEY)

[ U ]

the amount of money received from an activity:

The box office take has been huge for the new show.

take noun (OPINION)

[ C ]

a particular feeling, opinion, or reaction:

What’s your take on the new proposals for new health care?

take | Business English

take

verb [ T ]

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/teɪk/ us

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took | taken

(also take away)

to subtract one number or amount from another:

take sth from sth You'll need to take $2,000 from the $8,000 to allow for tax.

to remove something or someone from somewhere:

take sth/sb off (sth) What are we left with after we take off our costs?

I asked for her name to be taken off the list.

They decided to take him off the job and assign him to another department.

take sth away The police took away all of the files for investigation.

to accept or receive something:

Do you take credit cards?

take an order We're taking 5,000 orders a day.

Top executives will take a 10% pay cut.

He took a job as salesman in a local company.

Are you going to take the job if you get offered it?

COMMERCE

(US also take in)

to receive money from sales or as payment for something:

They took an astonishing $100,000 in their first week.

The company will make money by taking 5% from each bet.

COMMERCE

to buy or choose something:

The good news is that they have decided to take 200 units a year.

50% of our total production is taken by just three customers.

to need something:

It takes determination to succeed in a new business venture.

if something takes a particular amount of time, that time is needed in order to finish it:

They estimated that the project would take about 6 months to complete.

have (got) what it takes

to have the necessary qualities or abilities to do something:

Have you got what it takes to be in charge of a department?

If you don't have what it takes, you're not going to last long.

take it or leave it

used when you are offering something to someone to say that you will not improve your offer:

And that's our final offer. Take it or leave it.

take part (in sth)

to be involved in something with other people:

Most of the board members took part in the discussions.

take stock

to think carefully about a situation or event and form an opinion about it, so that you can decide what to do:

When markets touch new highs, investors need to take stock.

I am currently taking stock of our position.

ACCOUNTING

→ stocktake

take time

to need a lot of time:

It's going to take time to get this department running smoothly again.

Phrasal verbs

take sth away
take sth back
take sth forward
take sth in
take off
take sth off
take sb on
take sth on
take sth out
take over

More phrasal verbs

take sb through sth

take sth up

take

noun

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/teɪk/ us

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[ U ] FINANCE, COMMERCE

money that is received from sales or as payment for something:

The players now get 75% of the take.

Tour operators had come to rely on the commission from insurance to increase their take.

Last weekend's take was down over 50%.

be on the take disapproving informal

to accept money for helping someone to do something illegal:

They vowed to punish officials on the take.

Examples of take

take

The analysis was permitted to continue for 114 generations and this took approximately 24 hr in total.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They plotted out the area and drew up plans before taking it over.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from the Cambridge English Corpus and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

More examples Fewer examples

The two players alternately take new edges, one edge per move.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Take the three-person game introduced above and suppose the players' beliefs are as specified.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Although it was well-known that rice is mainly self-pollinating, it was also known that some cross-pollination can take place.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

An ordinary industrial robot hanging over the workcell suspended by an iron portal takes care of hexapod translocations.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Five organic components and the presence of amorphous organic matter were taken into account in the palynofacies analysis.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

His contribution contains the most detailed phonetic analysis, taking into account not only prosodic features but segmental characteristics as well.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In his visits to and walks around allotments, public housing projects and wasteland, he took photographs, drew maps and interviewed inhabitants or users of space.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Placing and orientation of the camera for taking the pictures followed the same method as described for 38-mm photographs.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The location of sulci could nonetheless be determined by referring to the photographs taken during each stage of the flatmounting process.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

All photographs were taken using identical camera settings.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The present study aimed to assess, in a community sample, actions taken to cope with depression at different levels of psychological distress.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Having taken these precautions, no associations between any of the immune or inflammatory measures and psychological health outcomes were observed.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

As the project progresses it is the pupils that take on the responsibility for the entire process, not the teachers or leaders.