take ten

transitive verb took, taken, taking

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.)
6. 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)

Origin: 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
3. 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
6. 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