take out (or off) after

Variant of take

take definition

take (tāk)

transitive verb took, taken tak′·en, taking tak′·ing

  1. to get by conquering; capture; seize to trap, snare, or catch (a bird, animal, or fish)
    1. to win (a game, a trick at cards, etc.)
    2. 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
  2. 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
  3. to choose; select to use or employ; resort to to take a mop to the floor
    1. to travel by to take a bus
    2. 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
    1. to occupy take a chair
    2. 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
  4. 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
    1. to make (a photograph, picture, etc.)
    2. to draw, photograph, etc. a likeness of take the scene in color
    to make an impression of take his fingerprints
  5. 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.)
    1. to understand the remarks of (a person)
    2. to comprehend the meaning of (words or remarks)
    3. 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.)
  7. 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
  8. 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)

Etymology: ME taken < OE tacan < ON taka < ? IE base *dēg-, to lay hold of

intransitive verb

  1. to get possession
  2. to hook or engage with another part: said of a mechanical device
  3. to take root; begin growing: said of a plant
  4. to lay hold; catch the fire took rapidly
  5. to gain public favor; be popular
  6. to be effective in action, operation, desired result, etc. the vaccination took; the dye takes well
  7. to remove a part; detract (from) nothing took from the scene's beauty
  8. to be made or adapted to be taken (up, down, apart, etc.)
  9. Informal, Dialectal to become (ill or sick)
  10. Informal to be photographed in a specified way she takes well in profile
  11. Law to take possession of property

noun

  1. the act or process of taking
  2. something that has been taken
    1. the amount or quantity of something taken the day's take of fish
    2. Slang money received; receipts or profit
  4. a vaccination that takes
  5. Film
    1. an uninterrupted shot photographed by a camera
    2. the process of photographing such a shot
    1. any of a series of recordings or tapes of a performance, from which one will be made for release to the public
    2. the process of so recording
  7. Informal opinion; evaluation; assessment: followed by on what's your take on the new tax?
  8. Printing the amount of copy sent to the compositor at one time

Related Forms:

take Idioms

on the take

☆
Slang willing or seeking to take bribes or illicit income

take after

  1. to be, act, or look like
  2. to run after or pursue
    also take out (or off) after take out (or off) after

take a meeting

☆
Slang to attend a business conference

take amiss

  1. Archaic to be wrong concerning; mistake
  2. to misunderstand the reason behind (an act), esp. so as to become offended

take back

  1. to regain use or possession of
  2. to retract (something said, promised, etc.)
  3. to return (something), as to be exchanged

take down

  1. to remove from a higher place and put in a lower one; pull down
  2. to unfasten; take apart
  3. to make less conceited; humble
  4. to put in writing; record

take five (or ten, etc.)

☆
Informal take a break for five (or ten, etc.) minutes, as from working

take for

  1. to consider to be; regard as
  2. to mistake for

take hold

to take effect or become firmly established the new fad took hold quickly

take hold of

to seize; grasp

take in

  1. to admit; receive
  2. to shorten (a sail) by reefing or furling
  3. to make smaller or more compact
  4. to include; comprise
  5. to understand; comprehend
  6. to cheat; trick; deceive
  7. ☆ to visit, see, experience, etc. to take in all the sights
  8. to receive into one's home for pay to take in boarders

take it

  1. to suppose; believe
  2. ☆ Slang to withstand difficulty, criticism, hardship, ridicule, etc.

take it or leave it

accept it or not

take it out of

Informal
  1. to exhaust; tire
  2. to obtain payment or satisfaction from

take it out on

☆
Informal to make (another) suffer for one's own anger, irritation, bad temper, etc.

take off

  1. to remove (a garment, etc.)
  2. to draw or conduct away
    1. to go away; depart
    2. to absent oneself, as from work
  4. to deduct; subtract
  5. to kill
  6. to make a copy or likeness of
  7. to leave the ground or water in flight
  8. Informal to start
  9. Informal to imitate in a burlesque manner; parody: with on
  10. Informal to become very popular and successful
  11. Slang to rob

take on

  1. to acquire; assume (form, quality, etc.)
  2. to employ; hire
  3. to begin to do (a task, etc.); undertake
  4. to compete or play against; oppose
  5. Informal to show violent emotion, especially anger or sorrow

take one's time

to be slow or unhurried; delay

take out

    1. to remove; extract
    2. to deduct
  2. to obtain by application to the proper authority
  3. Informal to escort
  4. Slang to kill; specif., to assassinate
  5. Bridge to bid higher than (one's partner) but in a different suit

take over

to assume control or possession of

take to

  1. to develop a habit or practice of doing, using, etc.
  2. to apply oneself to (one's studies, work, etc.)
  3. to become fond of; care for; be attracted to
    1. to go to or withdraw to to take to the hills, take to one's bed with the flu
    2. to travel on or proceed by to take to the open road

take up

  1. to raise; lift
  2. to make tighter or shorter
  3. to pay off; recover by buying (a mortgage, note, etc.)
  4. to absorb (a liquid)
  5. to accept (a challenge, bet, etc.)
  6. to assume protection or custody of
  7. to interrupt in disapproval or rebuke: with on
  8. to resume (something interrupted)
    1. to become interested in or devoted to (an occupation, study, hobby, belief, etc.)
    2. to adopt (an idea)
  10. to occupy or fill (space or time)

take upon oneself

or take on oneself
  1. to take the responsibility for; accept as a charge
  2. to begin (to do something)

take up with

Informal to become a friend or companion of

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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