Phrasal Verbs With "Take"

Take aback

• Meaning: Surprise or shock; to discomfit
• Example: The bad news took us aback.

Take after

• Meaning: To have similar character or personality to a family member
• Example: He takes after his mother.

Take against (UK)

• Meaning: Stop liking someone; to become unfriendly toward
• Example: He took against me when I was promoted over him.

Take apart

• Meaning: Separate something into its parts
• Example: I took the radio apart to find out what was wrong.

Take aside

• Meaning: Get someone alone to talk to them
• Example: I was immediately taken aside by the manager.

Phrasal Verbs with TAKE – “Take away” meaning. 

Take away

• Meaning: Remove something and put it in a different place
• Example: Mother took our plates away and came back with some fruit for us to eat.

Take away

• Meaning: Remove something, either material or abstract, so that a person no longer has it
• Example: The teacher took my mobile phone away until the end of the lesson.

Take away

• Meaning: Subtract or diminish something
• Example: If I have five apples and you take away two, how many do I have left?

Take away

• Meaning: Leave a memory or impression in one’s mind that you think about later
• Example: I took away the impression that the play was under rehearsed.

Take away

• Meaning: Make someone leave a place and go somewhere else
• Example: The police took him away for questioning.

Take away

• Meaning: Prevent, or limit, someone from being somewhere, or from doing something
• Example: My job takes me away from home most weekends.

Take away from

• Meaning: Make something seem not so good or interesting
• Example: Even the rain couldn’t take away from the excitement of the match.

Take back

• Meaning: Retract an earlier statement
• Example: No, you are not fat; I take it all back.

Take back

• Meaning: Cause to remember some past event or time
• Example: That tune takes me back to my childhood.

Take back

• Meaning: Resume a relationship with someone
• Example: She has forgiven him, and taken him back.

Take back

• Meaning: Regain possession of something
• Example: The wedding is off, and he has taken back the ring.

Take back

• Meaning: Return something to a vendor for a refund
• Example: Take back faulty goods to the shop where you bought them.

Phrasal Verbs with TAKE – “Take down” meaning. 

Take down

• Meaning: Remove something from a wall or similar vertical surface to which it is fixed
• Example: He took down the picture and replaced it with the framed photograph.

Take down

• Meaning: Remove something from a hanging position
• Example: We need to take down the curtains to be cleaned.

Take down

• Meaning: Write down as a note, especially to record something spoken
• Example: If you have a pen, you can take down my phone number.

Take down

• Meaning: Remove a temporary structure such as scaffolding
• Example: When everything else is packed, we can take down the tent.

Take down

• Meaning: Lower an item of clothing without removing it
• Example: The doctor asked me to take down my trousers.

Take for

• Meaning: Regard as
• Example: Does he take me for a fool?

Take for

• Meaning: Consider mistakenly
• Example: Sorry, I took you for someone else.

Take for

• Meaning: Defraud; to rip off
• Example: Pinkett angry that George betrayed trust, took him for $100K.

Take in

• Meaning: Receive (goods) into one’s home for the purpose of processing for a fee
• Example: In hard times, some women would take in washing and others dressmaking repairs.

Take in

• Meaning: Shorten (a garment) or make it smaller
• Example: Try taking the skirt in a little around the waist.

Take in

• Meaning: Absorb or comprehend
• Example: I was so sleepy that I hardly took in any of the lecture.

Take in

• Meaning: Deceive, give a false impression
• Example: Everyone was taken in by his practical joke.

Take it away

• Meaning: Begin, especially used to launch a performance of some sort (usually imperative and/or exclamatory) I’d like to introduce Mumbo the
• Example: Magnificent and his dancing parrot, Tiddles. Take it away, Mumbo!

Take it out in

• Meaning: Accept as payment
• Example: I convinced him to take it out in barter instead of cash.

Take it out on

• Meaning: Unleash one’s anger on [a person or thing other than the one that caused it]
• Example: Don’t take it out on your husband if you had trouble with your boss at work.

Take it upon oneself

• Meaning: Assume personal responsibility for a task or action
• Example: She took it upon herself to manage the project.

Phrasal Verbs with TAKE – “Take off” meaning. 

Take off

• Meaning: To remove something, usually clothing or accessories
• Example: It was hot so I took my jacket off.

Take off

• Meaning: Imitate, often in a satirical manner
• Example: They love to take off all the politicians’ mannerisms.

Take off

• Meaning: Leave the ground and begin flight; to ascend into the air
• Example: The plane has been cleared to take off from runway 3.

Take off

• Meaning: Become successful, to flourish
• Example: The business has really taken off this year and has made quite a profit.

Take off

• Meaning: Depart
• Example: I’m going to take off now.

Take off

• Meaning: Quantify
• Example: I’ll take off the concrete and steel for this construction project.

Take off

• Meaning: Absent oneself from work or other responsibility, especially with permission
• Example: If you take off for Thanksgiving you must work Christmas and vice versa.

Take on

• Meaning: Acquire, bring in, or introduce
• Example: The ship took on cargo in Norfolk yesterday.

Take on

• Meaning: Begin to have or exhibit
• Example: In the dark, the teddy bear took on the appearance of a fearsome monster.

Take on

• Meaning: Assume responsibility for
• Example: I’ll take on the project if no one else will.

Take on

• Meaning: Attempt to fight or compete with
• Example: I don’t recommend taking on that bully, since he’s bigger than you are.

Take out

• Meaning: Remove
• Example: Please take out the trash before the whole house starts to smell.

Take out

• Meaning: Invite someone out socially, especially on a date
• Example: Let me take you out for dinner.

Phrasal Verbs with TAKE – “Take over” meaning. 

Take over

• Meaning: Adopt a responsibility or duty from someone else
• Example: He will take over the job permanently when the accountant retires.

Take over

• Meaning: Relieve someone temporarily
• Example: If you will take over driving, I’d like to get some sleep.

Take over

• Meaning: Buy out the ownership of a business
• Example: Acme Motors is to take Jetcar Industries over this week, if all goes as planned.

Take over

• Meaning: Annex a territory by conquest or invasion
• Example: Ancient Rome took over lands throughout the known world.

Take over

• Meaning: Become more successful (than someone or something else)
• Example: Tiger Woods has taken over as the top golfer.

Take pity

• Meaning: Show compassion (towards)
• Example: Someone please take pity on that homeless man in the rain and give him a place to stay overnight.

Take to

• Meaning: Adapt to; to learn, grasp or master
• Example: She took to swimming like a fish.

Take to

• Meaning: Enter; to go into or move towards
• Example: As the train rushed through, thousands of birds took to the air at once.

Take to

• Meaning: Begin, as a new habit or practice
• Example: After the third one was rejected, she took to asking the department to check the form before she submitted it.

Phrasal Verbs with TAKE – “Take up” meaning. 

Take up

• Meaning: Pick up
• Example: The reel automatically took up the slack.

Take up

• Meaning: Begin doing (an activity) on a regular basis
• Example: I’ve taken up knitting.

Take up

• Meaning: Address (an issue)
• Example: Let’s take this up with the manager.

Take up

• Meaning: Occupy; to consume (space or time)
• Example: The books on finance take up three shelves.

Take up

• Meaning: Shorten by hemming
• Example: If we take up the sleeves a bit, that shirt will look much better on you.

Take up

• Meaning: Accept (a proposal, offer, request, etc.) from
• Example: Shall we take them up on their offer to help us move?

Take up

• Meaning: Resume
• Example: Let’s take up where we left off.

Take up with

• Meaning: Form a close relationship with (someone)
• Example: I hear that John has taken up with Jane.

Take upon oneself

• Meaning: Assume personal responsibility for
• Example: That’s an awful lot of work to take upon yourself.

Take through

• Meaning: Explain something; give a tour of a place
• Example: Stop by, and I’ll take you through the new headquarters.