English Dictionary

Definition of “taking”

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taking (ˈteɪkɪŋPronunciation for taking) 

Definitions

adjective

  1. charming, fascinating, or intriguing
  2. informal infectious; catching

noun

  1. something taken
  2. (plural) receipts; earnings

Alternative Forms

ˈtakingly adverb ˈtakingness noun

1take1 (teɪkPronunciation for take1) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: takes, taking, took, taken
(mainly tr)
  1. (also intr) to gain possession of (something) by force or effort
  2. to appropriate or steal  ⇒ to take other people's belongings 
  3. to receive or accept into a relationship with oneself  ⇒ to take a wife 
  4. to pay for or buy
  5. to rent or lease  ⇒ to take a flat in town 
  6. to receive or obtain by regular payment  ⇒ we take a newspaper every day 
  7. to obtain by competing for; win  ⇒ to take first prize 
  8. to obtain or derive from a source  ⇒ he took his good manners from his older brother 
  9. to assume the obligations of  ⇒ to take office 
  10. to endure, esp with fortitude  ⇒ to take punishment 
  11. to adopt as a symbol of duty, obligation, etc  ⇒ to take the veil 
  12. to receive or react to in a specified way  ⇒ she took the news very well 
  13. to adopt as one's own  ⇒ to take someone's part in a quarrel 
  14. to receive and make use of  ⇒ to take advice 
  15. to receive into the body, as by eating, inhaling, etc  ⇒ to take a breath 
  16. to eat, drink, etc, esp habitually  ⇒ to take sugar in one's tea 
  17. to have or be engaged in for one's benefit or use  ⇒ to take a rest 
  18. to work at or study  ⇒ to take economics at college 
  19. to make, do, or perform (an action)  ⇒ to take a leap 
  20. to make use of  ⇒ to take an opportunity 
  21. to put into effect; adopt  ⇒ to take measures 
  22. (also intr) to make a photograph of or admit of being photographed
  23. to act or perform  ⇒ she takes the part of the Queen 
  24. to write down or copy  ⇒ to take notes 
  25. to experience or feel  ⇒ to take pride in one's appearance to take offence 
  26. to consider, believe, or regard  ⇒ I take him to be honest 
  27. to consider or accept as valid  ⇒ I take your point 
  28. to hold or maintain in the mind  ⇒ his father took a dim view of his career 
  29. to deal or contend with  ⇒ the tennis champion took her opponent's best strokes without difficulty 
  30. to use as a particular case  ⇒ take hotels for example 
  31. (intr) from to diminish or detract  ⇒ the actor's bad performance took from the effect of the play 
  32. to confront successfully  ⇒ the horse took the jump at the third attempt 
  33. (intr) to have or produce the intended effect; succeed  ⇒ her vaccination took the glue is taking well 
  34. (intr) (of seeds, plants, etc) to start growing successfully
  35. to aim or direct  ⇒ he took a swipe at his opponent 
  36. to deal a blow to in a specified place
  37. archaic to have sexual intercourse with
  38. to carry off or remove from a place
  39. to carry along or have in one's possession  ⇒ don't forget to take your umbrella 
  40. to convey or transport  ⇒ the train will take us out of the city 
  41. to use as a means of transport  ⇒ I shall take the bus 
  42. to conduct or lead  ⇒ this road takes you to the station 
  43. to escort or accompany  ⇒ may I take you out tonight? 
  44. to bring or deliver to a state, position, etc  ⇒ his ability took him to the forefront in his field 
  45. to go to look for; seek  ⇒ to take cover 
  46. to ascertain or determine by measuring, computing, etc  ⇒ to take a pulse take a reading from a dial 
  47. (intr) (of a mechanism) to catch or engage (a part)
  48. to put an end to; destroy  ⇒ she took her own life 
  49. to come upon unexpectedly; discover
  50. to contract  ⇒ he took a chill 
  51. to affect or attack  ⇒ the fever took him one night 
  52. (copula) to become suddenly or be rendered (ill)  ⇒ he took sick he was taken sick 
  53. (also intr) to absorb or become absorbed by something  ⇒ to take a polish 
  54. (usually passive) to charm or captivate  ⇒ she was very taken with the puppy 
  55. (intr) to be or become popular; win favour
  56. to require or need  ⇒ this job will take a lot of attention that task will take all your time 
  57. to subtract or deduct  ⇒ to take six from ten leaves four 
  58. to hold or contain  ⇒ the suitcase won't take all your clothes 
  59. to quote or copy  ⇒ he has taken several paragraphs from the book for his essay 
  60. to proceed to occupy  ⇒ to take a seat 
  61. (often foll by to) to use or employ  ⇒ to take steps to ascertain the answer 
  62. to win or capture (a trick, counter, piece, etc)
  63. (also intr) to catch as prey or catch prey
  64. slang to cheat, deceive, or victimize
  65. See take amiss
  66. See take at one's word
  67. See take care
  68. See take care of
  69. See take chances
  70. See take five
  71. See take heart
  72. See take it
  73. See take one's time
  74. See take place
  75. See take someone's name in vain
  76. See take something upon oneself

noun

  1. the act of taking
  2. the number of quarry killed or captured on one occasion
  3. informal mainly US the amount of anything taken, esp money
  4. cinema music 
    1. one of a series of recordings from which the best will be selected for release
    2. the process of taking one such recording
    3. a scene or part of a scene photographed without interruption
  5. informal 
    1. any objective indication of a successful vaccination, such as a local skin reaction
    2. a successful skin graft
  6. printing a part of an article, story, etc, given to a compositor or keyboard operator for setting in type
  7. informal a try or attempt
  8. informal mainly US a version or interpretation  ⇒ Cronenberg's harsh take on the sci-fi story 

See also

take aback , take after , take against , take apart , take away , take back , take down , take for , take in , take off , take on , take out , take over , take to , take up

Alternative Forms

ˈtakable ˈtakeable adjective

Word Origin

Old English tacan,  from Old Norse taka;  related to Gothic tekan to touch

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= grip, grab, seize, catch, grasp, clutch, get hold of, clasp, take hold of lay hold of,
= carry, bring, bear, transport, ferry, haul, convey, fetch, cart, tote,
= accompany, lead, bring, guide, conduct, escort, convoy, usher, hold (someone's) hand
= remove, draw, pull, fish, withdraw, extract, abstract,
= steal, nick, appropriate, pocket, trouser, pinch, cabbage, carry off, swipe, knock off, run off with, blag, walk off with, misappropriate, cart off, purloin, filch, help yourself to gain possession of
= capture, arrest, seize, abduct, take into custody ensnare, entrap, lay hold of,
= tolerate, stand, bear, suffer, weather, go through, brave, stomach, endure, undergo, swallow, brook, hack, abide, put up with, withstand, submit to countenance, pocket, thole,
= last, go on for, continue for carry on for endure for run on for keep on for
= require, need, involve, demand, call for, entail, necessitate,
= accept, assume, take on, undertake, adopt, take up, enter upon,
= draw, derive, feel, know, experience, undergo,
= earn, make, net, collect, realize, bring in, gross,
= win, get, be awarded receive, land, be given pick up, bag, secure, collect, obtain, scoop, be presented with carry off, walk away or off with
= receive, get, accept, be given gain, obtain,
= respond to meet, deal with, receive, cope with greet, react to
= consider, study, think about, examine, contemplate, ponder, weigh up, mull over, chew over, ruminate on give thought to deliberate over cogitate on
= understand, follow, comprehend, get, see, grasp, apprehend,
= have, choose, pick, prefer, select, opt for settle on,
= travel, go, journey, walk, progress, proceed, trek, voyage, traverse, make your way
= hire, book, rent, lease, reserve, pay for, engage, make a reservation for
= subscribe to, buy, read regularly purchase, buy regularly
= travel by travel on make use of, journey on
= study, learn, be taught do, read, pursue, work at read up on, have lessons in
= perform, have, do, make, effect, accomplish, execute,
= ingest, consume, swallow, inhale,
= consume, have, drink, eat, imbibe,
= write, record, jot (down) note (down) scribble, set down, scrawl, make a note of
= measure, establish, determine, find out, assess, calculate, evaluate, gauge, ascertain, appraise,
= have room for hold, contain, accommodate, accept,
= wear, need, require, fit,
= work, succeed, do the trick, have effect be efficacious
= extract, quote, cite, excerpt, reproduce, abstract, cull,
= occupy, use, engage, hold, fill, reserve, bag,
= derive, get, obtain, acquire, come by,
= take advantage of, grab, seize (on) exploit, grasp, act on, make the most of, jump on, pounce on, capitalize on, leap at, turn to account put to advantage
= cheat, do, con, stiff, fiddle, deceive, defraud, dupe, gull, swindle, bilk, pull a fast one on
= takings, profits, revenue, return, gate, yield, proceeds, haul, receipts,
= scene, sequence, filmed sequence
= view, opinion, understanding of analysis of interpretation of reading of explanation of

Usage examples

  • He looked at her steadily, for the first time taking her in whole.
    Jon Cleary, YESTERDAY'S SHADOW (2002)
  • Severe cold can make the white stems go brown and rot, but new leavesappear, and taking a few from each plant can encourage new growth.
    Country Life (2004)
  • It appears that they did nothing to gain an understanding of active leveraged risk taking.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • Despite the vicissitudes of three failed marriages and a quadruple heart by-pass operation, Jimmy Logan kept taking the curtain calls.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • After taking a few steps he turned, groaned and fell into the arms of Dr Robertson.
    Jim Leavesley, George Biro, THE MEDICAL MYSTERIES E-OMNIBUS (2001)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'T'

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