take Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
    return; yield; takings; issue; proceeds; payoff.
    • the average return was about 5%
  2. noun the act of photographing a scene or part of a scene without interruption
  3. verb carry out
    • take action
    • take steps
    • take vengeance
  4. verb require (time or space)
    occupy; use up.
    • It took three hours to get to work this morning
    • This event occupied a very short time
  5. verb take somebody somewhere
    guide; conduct; lead; direct.
    • We lead him to our chief
    • can you take me to the main entrance?
    • He conducted us to the palace
  6. verb get into one's hands, take physically
    get hold of.
    • Take a cookie!
    • Can you take this bag, please
  7. verb take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect
    assume; take on; acquire; adopt.
    • His voice took on a sad tone
    • The story took a new turn
    • he adopted an air of superiority
    • She assumed strange manners
    • The gods assume human or animal form in these fables
  8. verb interpret something in a certain way; convey a particular meaning or impression
    read.
    • I read this address as a satire
    • How should I take this message?
    • You can't take credit for this!
  9. verb take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
    bring; convey.
    • Bring me the box from the other room
    • Take these letters to the boss
    • This brings me to the main point
  10. verb take into one's possession
    • We are taking an orphan from Romania
    • I'll take three salmon steaks
  11. verb travel or go by means of a certain kind of transportation, or a certain route
    • He takes the bus to work
    • She takes Route 1 to Newark
  12. verb pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
    pick out; choose; select.
    • Take any one of these cards
    • Choose a good husband for your daughter
    • She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her
  13. verb receive willingly something given or offered
    have; accept.
    • The only girl who would have him was the miller's daughter
    • I won't have this dog in my house!
    • Please accept my present
  14. verb assume, as of positions or roles
    occupy; fill.
    • She took the job as director of development
    • he occupies the position of manager
    • the young prince will soon occupy the throne
  15. verb take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
    look at; consider; deal.
    • Take the case of China
    • Consider the following case
  16. verb require as useful, just, or proper
    call for; require; necessitate; involve; need; demand; ask; postulate.
    • It takes nerve to do what she did
    • success usually requires hard work
    • This job asks a lot of patience and skill
    • This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice
    • This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert
    • This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent
  17. verb experience or feel or submit to
    • Take a test
    • Take the plunge
  18. verb make a film or photograph of something
    shoot; film.
    • take a scene
    • shoot a movie
  19. verb remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
    withdraw; take away; remove.
    • remove a threat
    • remove a wrapper
    • Remove the dirty dishes from the table
    • take the gun from your pocket
    • This machine withdraws heat from the environment
  20. verb serve oneself to, or consume regularly
    have; take in; consume; ingest.
    • Have another bowl of chicken soup!
    • I don't take sugar in my coffee
  21. verb accept or undergo, often unwillingly
    submit.
    • We took a pay cut
  22. verb make use of or accept for some purpose
    accept.
    • take a risk
    • take an opportunity
  23. verb take by force
    • Hitler took the Baltic Republics
    • The army took the fort on the hill
  24. verb occupy or take on
    assume; strike; take up.
    • He assumes the lotus position
    • She took her seat on the stage
    • We took our seats in the orchestra
    • She took up her position behind the tree
    • strike a pose
  25. verb admit into a group or community
    take on; admit; accept.
    • accept students for graduate study
    • We'll have to vote on whether or not to admit a new member
  26. verb ascertain or determine by measuring, computing or take a reading from a dial
    • take a pulse
    • A reading was taken of the earth's tremors
  27. verb be a student of a certain subject
    read; study; learn.
    • She is reading for the bar exam
  28. verb take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs
    claim; exact.
    • the accident claimed three lives
    • The hard work took its toll on her
  29. verb head into a specified direction
    make.
    • The escaped convict took to the hills
    • We made for the mountains
  30. verb point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
    aim; direct; train; take aim.
    • Please don't aim at your little brother!
    • He trained his gun on the burglar
    • Don't train your camera on the women
    • Take a swipe at one's opponent
  31. verb be seized or affected in a specified way
    • take sick
    • be taken drunk
  32. verb have with oneself; have on one's person
    carry; pack.
    • She always takes an umbrella
    • I always carry money
    • She packs a gun when she goes into the mountains
  33. verb engage for service under a term of contract
    hire; engage; charter; lease; rent.
    • We took an apartment on a quiet street
    • Let's rent a car
    • Shall we take a guide in Rome?
  34. verb receive or obtain regularly
    subscribe to; subscribe.
    • We take the Times every day
  35. verb buy, select
    • I'll take a pound of that sausage
  36. verb to get into a position of having, e.g., safety, comfort
    • take shelter from the storm
  37. verb have sex with; archaic use
    have.
    • He had taken this woman when she was most vulnerable
  38. verb lay claim to; as of an idea
    claim.
    • She took credit for the whole idea
  39. verb be designed to hold or take
    accept.
    • This surface will not take the dye
  40. verb be capable of holding or containing
    hold; contain.
    • This box won't take all the items
    • The flask holds one gallon
  41. verb develop a habit
    • He took to visiting bars
  42. verb proceed along in a vehicle
    drive.
    • We drive the turnpike to work
  43. verb obtain by winning
    • Winner takes all
    • He took first prize
  44. verb be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness
    contract; get.
    • He got AIDS
    • She came down with pneumonia
    • She took a chill

WordNet

Take p. p. of Take
Definitions
obs.
  1. Taken. Chaucer.
Take transitive verb
Etymology
Icel. taka; akin to Sw. taga, Dan. tage, Goth. tekan to touch; of uncertain origin.
Wordforms
imperfect Took ; past participle Takend ; present participle & verbal noun Taking
Definitions
  1. In an active sense; To lay hold of; to seize with the hands, or otherwise; to grasp; to get into one's hold or possession; to procure; to seize and carry away; to convey. Hence, specifically: -- (a) To obtain possession of by force or artifice; to get the custody or control of; to reduce into subjection to one's power or will; to capture; to seize; to make prisoner; as, to take am army, a city, or a ship; also, to come upon or befall; to fasten on; to attack; to seize; -- said of a disease, misfortune, or the like.
    This man was taken of the Jews. Acts xxiii. 27.
    Men in their loose, unguarded hours they take; Not that themselves are wise, but others weak. Pope.
    They that come abroad after these showers are commonly taken with sickness. Bacon.
    There he blasts the tree and takes the cattle And makes milch kine yield blood. Shak.
    (b) To gain or secure the interest or affection of; to captivate; to engage; to interest; to charm.
    Neither let her take thee with her eyelids. Prov. vi. 25.
    Cleombroutus was so taken with this prospect, that he had no patience. Wake.
    I know not why, but there was a something in those half-seen features, -- a charm in the very shadow that hung over their imagined beauty, -- which took me more than all the outshining loveliness of her companions. Moore.
    (c) To make selection of; to choose; also, to turn to; to have recourse to; as, to take the road to the right.
    Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 1 Sam. xiv. 42.
    The violence of storming is the course which God is forced to take for the destroying . . . of sinners. Hammond.
    (d) To employ; to use; to occupy; hence, to demand; to require; as, it takes so much cloth to make a coat.
    This man always takes time . . . before he passes his judgments. I. Watts.
    (e) To form a likeness of; to copy; to delineate; to picture; as, to take picture of a person.
    Beauty alone could beauty take so right. Dryden.
    (f) To draw; to deduce; to derive. R.
    The firm belief of a future judgment is the most forcible motive to a good life, because taken from this consideration of the most lasting happiness and misery. Tillotson.
    (g) To assume; to adopt; to acquire, as shape; to permit to one's self; to indulge or engage in; to yield to; to have or feel; to enjoy or experience, as rest, revenge, delight, shame; to form and adopt, as a resolution; -- used in general senses, limited by a following complement, in many idiomatic phrases; as, to take a resolution; I take the liberty to say. (h) To lead; to conduct; as, to take a child to church. (i) To carry; to convey; to deliver to another; to hand over; as, he took the book to the bindery.
    He took me certain gold, I wot it well. Chaucer.
    (k) To remove; to withdraw; to deduct; -- with from; as, to take the breath from one; to take two from four.
  2. In a somewhat passive sense, to receive; to bear; to endure; to acknowledge; to accept. Specifically: -- (a) To accept, as something offered; to receive; not to refuse or reject; to admit.
    Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer. Num. xxxv. 31.
    Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore. 1 Tim. v. 10.
    (b) To receive as something to be eaten or dronk; to partake of; to swallow; as, to take food or wine. (c) Not to refuse or balk at; to undertake readily; to clear; as, to take a hedge or fence. (d) To bear without ill humor or resentment; to submit to; to tolerate; to endure; as, to take a joke; he will take an affront from no man. (e) To admit, as, something presented to the mind; not to dispute; to allow; to accept; to receive in thought; to entertain in opinion; to understand; to interpret; to regard or look upon; to consider; to suppose; as, to take a thing for granted; this I take to be man's motive; to take men for spies.
    You take me right. Bacon.
    Charity, taken in its largest extent, is nothing else but the science love of God and our neighbor. Wake.
    [He] took that for virtue and affection which was nothing but vice in a disguise. South.
    You'd doubt his sex, and take him for a girl. Tate.
    (f) To accept the word or offer of; to receive and accept; to bear; to submit to; to enter into agreement with; -- used in general senses; as, to take a form or shape.
    I take thee at thy word. Rowe.
    Yet thy moist clay is pliant to command; . . . Not take the mold. Dryden.
Take intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To take hold; to fix upon anything; to have the natural or intended effect; to accomplish a purpose; as, he was inoculated, but the virus did not take. Shak.
    When flame taketh and openeth, it giveth a noise. Bacon.
    In impressions from mind to mind, the impression taketh, but is overcome . . . before it work any manifest effect. Bacon.
  2. To please; to gain reception; to succeed.
    Each wit may praise it for his own dear sake, And hint he writ it, if the thing should take. Addison.
  3. To move or direct the course; to resort; to betake one's self; to proceed; to go; -- usually with to; as, the fox, being hard pressed, took to the hedge.
  4. To admit of being pictured, as in a photograph; as, his face does not take well.
Take noun
Definitions
  1. That which is taken; especially, the quantity of fish captured at one haul or catch.
  2. (Print.) The quantity or copy given to a compositor at one time.

Webster 1913