take out

take out idiom
  1. Extract, remove, as in He should take out that splinter: [c. 1300]
  2. Secure by applying to an authority, as in She took out a real estate license. [Late 1600s]
  3. Escort on a date, as in He's been taking out a different girl every night of the week. [c. 1600]
  4. Give vent to; see take it out on.
  5. Carry away for use elsewhere, as in Can we get some pizza to take out?
  6. Obtain as an equivalent in different form, as in We took out the money she owed us by having her baby-sit. [Early 1600s]
  7. Set out, as in Jan and Herb took out for the beach, or The police took out after the suspects. [Mid-1800s]
  8. Kill, destroy, as in Two snipers took out a whole platoon, or Flying low, the plane took out the enemy bunker in one pass. [1930s]
  9. See under take out of.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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