19 English Phrasal Verbs With 'TAKE'

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19 phrasal verbs with 'TAKE'

Take aback

  1. Surprise or shock
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: The news of her death TOOK me ABACK.

Take after

  1. Look like, resemble
    (Inseparable | International English)
    » Example: He TAKES AFTER his mother.

Take apart

  1. Take something to pieces
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: She TOOK the photocopier APART to see what had got stuck in it.

Take aside

  1. Get someone alone to talk to them
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: The teacher TOOK her ASIDE and said that she'd failed the exam.

Take away

  1. Remove
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The police TOOK the protestors AWAY.

Take back

  1. Make someone nostalgic
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: That song always TAKES me BACK to when I was at university.
  2. Retract a statement, admit that something was wrong
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: I had to TAKE BACK everything bad I'd said about them when I learned how they'd helped out.

Take down

  1. Make notes or write down in full
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The police TOOK DOWN his answers to their questions.
  2. Remove
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: People TAKE DOWN their Christmas decorations twelve days after Christmas.

Take for

  1. Believe that someone is a certain kind of person
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: Do you TAKE me FOR a fool?

Take in

  1. Absorb information
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The lecture was rather boring and I didn't TAKE IN much of what the lecturer said.
  2. Deceive
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: She TOOK me IN with her story until someone told me the truth.
  3. Make clothes smaller
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The jacket was far too big around the shoulders, so I had it TAKEN IN so that I could wear it.
  4. Assume care or support
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The family TOOK IN the three homeless kittens.

Take it

  1. Accept criticism
    (Inseparable | International English)
    » Example: He's good at criticising others, but can't TAKE IT himself.

Take it out on

  1. Abuse someone because you're angry
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: Whenever things go wrong, he always shouts and TAKES IT OUT ON me, even if I had nothing to do with the problem.

Take it upon yourself

  1. Take responsibility, often without consulting other people
    (Intransitive | International English)
    » Example: I TOOK IT UPON MYSELF to make sure he got up on time.

Take off

  1. Make great progress
    (Intransitive | International English)
    » Example: The software house really TOOK OFF when they produced the latest version of their DTP package.
  2. Reduce the price of an item
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: They've TAKEN ten percent OFF designer frames for glasses.
  3. When a plane departs or leaves the ground
    (Intransitive | International English)
    » Example: The flight for Dublin TOOK OFF on time.
  4. Remove
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: It was hot, so I TOOK my jacket OFF.

Take on

  1. Allow passengers on a ship or plane
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The plane stopped at Zurich to TAKE ON some passengers.
  2. Assume a responsibility
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: She TOOK ON the task of indexing the book.
  3. Employ
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The council has had to TAKE ON twenty extra employees to handle their increased workload.

Take out

  1. Borrow a library book
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: I TOOK OUT all the books I needed for my essay from the library.
  2. Borrow money from a bank or other official lender
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: Jackie and Anil TOOK OUT a mortgage to buy a bigger flat.
  3. Extract or remove
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The dentist TOOK OUT all of my wisdom teeth before they started causing any problems.
  4. Go out socially with someone, especially a date
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: He TOOK her OUT to a restaurant last Friday night.
  5. Obtain insurance
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: I TOOK OUT some health insurance before I went backpacking around Latin America.
  6. Kill, murder
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The gang TOOK him OUT after he spoke to the police.

Take over

  1. Assume control of a company or organisation
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The bank was TAKEN OVER by a Hong Kong bank that needed to buy a bank to get into the British market.
  2. Start a job or position that someone had occupied before you
    (Inseparable | International English)
    » Example: She TOOK OVER responsibility for the project last month.

Take through

  1. Explain something to someone
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: He TOOK me THROUGH the procedures before we started.

Take to

  1. Make a habit of something
    (Inseparable | International English)
    » Example: He's TAKEN TO wearing a baseball cap since his hair started thinning more noticeably.

Take up

  1. Fill or occupy time or space
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: An awful lot of my time at work is TAKEN UP with pointless bureaucracy nowadays.
  2. Make clothes shorter
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The trousers were too long so I TOOK them UP to make them fit.
  3. Start a new hobby, pastime, etc.
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: He TOOK UP squash as he felt he had to lose some weight.
  4. Accept an offer
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: I will TAKE you UP on the job offer.

Take our Exercise on 'TAKE'

Quiz for Verb: 'To TAKE'

Choose the correct definition for each phrasal verb...

'Take over' means...

'Take for' means...

'Take out' means...

'Take on' means...

'Take out' means...

'Take after' means...

'Take up' means...

'Take off' means...

'Take out' means...

'Take up' means...

 

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