Phrasal Verbs With 'Take'

Take aback phrasal verb

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

Take after phrasal verb

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

Take apart phrasal verb

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

Take aside phrasal verb

  1. Meaning: 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 phrasal verb

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

Take back phrasal verb

  1. Meaning: Make someone nostalgic
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: That song always TAKES me BACK to when I was at university.
  2. Meaning: 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 phrasal verb

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

Take for phrasal verb

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

Take in phrasal verb

  1. Meaning: 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. Meaning: Deceive
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: She TOOK me IN with her story until someone told me the truth.
  3. Meaning: 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. Meaning: Assume care or support
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The family TOOK IN the three homeless kittens.

Take it phrasal verb

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

Take it out on phrasal verb

  1. Meaning: 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 phrasal verb

  1. Meaning: 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 phrasal verb

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

Take on phrasal verb

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

Take out phrasal verb

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

Take over phrasal verb

  1. Meaning: 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. Meaning: 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 phrasal verb

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

Take to phrasal verb

  1. Meaning: 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 phrasal verb

  1. Meaning: 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. Meaning: Make clothes shorter
    (Separable [optional] | International English)
    » Example: The trousers were too long so I TOOK them UP to make them fit.
  3. Meaning: 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. Meaning: Accept an offer
    (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
    » Example: I will TAKE you UP on the job offer.

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