transitive verb took, taken, taking
- to get by conquering; capture; seize to trap, snare, or catch (a bird, animal, or fish)
- to win (a game, a trick at cards, etc.)
- to capture (an opponent's piece in chess or checkers)
to get hold of; grasp or catch to hit (a person) in or on some part to affect; attack: taken with a fit to catch in some act, esp. a moral fault: taken in adultery to capture the fancy of; charm - to get into one's hand or hold; transfer to oneself to eat, drink, swallow, etc. for nourishment or as medicine to admit; let in: the bus takes 20 riders to get benefit from by exposure to (the air, sun, etc.) to enter into a special relationship with: to take a wife to have sexual intercourse with to buy: he took the first suit he tried on to rent, lease, or pay for so as to occupy or use: to take a cottage to get regularly by paying for: to take a daily newspaper to assume as a responsibility, task, etc.: to take a job to assume or adopt (a symbol of duty or office): the president took the chair to obligate oneself by: to take a vow to join or associate oneself with (one party or side in a contest, disagreement, etc.) to assume as if granted or due one: to take the blame, to take deductionsSlang to cheat; trickGram. to have or admit of according to usage, nature, etc.; be used with in construction: a transitive verb takes an object
- to choose; select to use or employ; resort to: to take a mop to the floor
- to travel by: to take a bus
- to set out on; follow: to take the old path
to go to (a place) for shelter, safety, etc.: to take cover to deal with; consider: to take a matter seriously- to occupy: take a chair
- to use up; consume: to take all day
to require; demand; need: often used impersonally: it takes money; to take a size ten☆ Baseball to allow (a pitched ball) to pass without swinging one's bat - to derive, inherit, or draw (a name, quality, etc.) from something or someone specified to extract, as for quotation; excerpt: to take a verse from the Bible to obtain or ascertain by observation, query, or experiment: to take a poll, to take one's temperature to study; specif., to be enrolled as a student in: to take an art course to write down; copy: take notes
- to make (a photograph, picture, etc.)
- to draw, photograph, etc. a likeness of: take the scene in color
to make an impression of: take his fingerprints - to win (a prize, reward, etc.) to be the object of; undergo or endure: to take punishment to occupy oneself in; enjoy: take a nap to accept (something offered): to take a bet, to take advice to have a specified reaction to: to take a joke in earnest to confront and get over, through, etc.: the horse took the jump to be affected by (a disease, etc.): to take cold to absorb; become impregnated or treated with (a dye, polish, etc.)
- to understand the remarks of (a person)
- to comprehend the meaning of (words or remarks)
- to understand or interpret in a specified way
to suppose; presume: he took her to be a teacher to have or feel (an emotion or mental state): take pity, take notice to hold and act upon (an idea, point of view, etc.)- to do; perform (an act): to take a walk to make or put forth (a resolution or objection) as the result of thoughtInformal to aim and execute (a specified action) at an object: to take a jab at someone
- to be the way or means of going to (a place, condition, etc.); conduct; lead: the path takes you to the river to escort or accompany: to take a friend to dinner to carry or transport: to take a book with one to remove from a person, thing, or place; specif., to steal to remove by death; bring to an end: cancer takes many lives to subtract: to take two from ten to direct or move (oneself)
Origin:
ME taken < OE tacan < ON taka < ? IE base *dēg-, to lay hold of