v. t. [ imp. Took p. p. Taken p. pr. & vb. n. Taking. ] [ Icel. taka; akin to Sw. taga, Dan. tage, Goth. tēkan to touch; of uncertain origin. ] 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: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(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 an 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

This man was taken of the Jews. Acts xxiii. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men in their loose, unguarded hours they take;
Not that themselves are wise, but others weak. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

They that come abroad after these showers are commonly taken with sickness. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

There he blasts the tree and takes the cattle
And makes milch kine yield blood. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) To gain or secure the interest or affection of; to captivate; to engage; to interest; to charm. [ 1913 Webster ]

Neither let her take thee with her eyelids. Prov. vi. 25. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cleombroutus was so taken with this prospect, that he had no patience. Wake. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) To make selection of; to choose; also, to turn to; to have recourse to; as, to take the road to the right. [ 1913 Webster ]

Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 1 Sam. xiv. 42. [ 1913 Webster ]

The violence of storming is the course which God is forced to take for the destroying . . . of sinners. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

(d) To employ; to use; to occupy; hence, to demand; to require; as, it takes so much cloth to make a coat; it takes five hours to get to Boston from New York by car. [ 1913 Webster ]

This man always takes time . . . before he passes his judgments. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

(e) To form a likeness of; to copy; to delineate; to picture; as, to take a picture of a person. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beauty alone could beauty take so right. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

(f) To draw; to deduce; to derive. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

(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. [ 1913 Webster ]

(h) To lead; to conduct; as, to take a child to church. [ 1913 Webster ]

(i) To carry; to convey; to deliver to another; to hand over; as, he took the book to the bindery; he took a dictionary with him. [ 1913 Webster ]

He took me certain gold, I wot it well. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

(k) To remove; to withdraw; to deduct; -- with from; as, to take the breath from one; to take two from four. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In a somewhat passive sense, to receive; to bear; to endure; to acknowledge; to accept. Specifically: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) To accept, as something offered; to receive; not to refuse or reject; to admit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer. Num. xxxv. 31. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore. 1 Tim. v. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) To receive as something to be eaten or drunk; to partake of; to swallow; as, to take food or wine. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) Not to refuse or balk at; to undertake readily; to clear; as, to take a hedge or fence. [ 1913 Webster ]

(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. [ 1913 Webster ]

(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. [ 1913 Webster ]

You take me right. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Charity, taken in its largest extent, is nothing else but the science love of God and our neighbor. Wake. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ He ] took that for virtue and affection which was nothing but vice in a disguise. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

You'd doubt his sex, and take him for a girl. Tate. [ 1913 Webster ]

(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. [ 1913 Webster ]

I take thee at thy word. Rowe. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yet thy moist clay is pliant to command; . . .
Not take the mold. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make a picture, photograph, or the like, of; as, to take a group or a scene. [ Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

4. To give or deliver (a blow to); to strike; hit; as, he took me in the face; he took me a blow on the head. [ Obs. exc. Slang or Dial. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

To be taken aback,
To take advantage of,
To take air, etc. See under Aback, Advantage, etc. --
To take aim, to direct the eye or weapon; to aim. --
To take along, to carry, lead, or convey. --
To take arms, to commence war or hostilities. --
To take away, to carry off; to remove; to cause deprivation of; to do away with; as, a bill for taking away the votes of bishops. “By your own law, I take your life away.” Dryden. --
To take breath, to stop, as from labor, in order to breathe or rest; to recruit or refresh one's self. --
To take care, to exercise care or vigilance; to be solicitous. “Doth God take care for oxen?” 1 Cor. ix. 9. --
To take care of, to have the charge or care of; to care for; to superintend or oversee. --
To take down. (a) To reduce; to bring down, as from a high, or higher, place; as, to take down a book; hence, to bring lower; to depress; to abase or humble; as, to take down pride, or the proud. “I never attempted to be impudent yet, that I was not taken down.” Goldsmith. (b) To swallow; as, to take down a potion. (c) To pull down; to pull to pieces; as, to take down a house or a scaffold. (d) To record; to write down; as, to take down a man's words at the time he utters them. --
To take effect,
To take fire. See under Effect, and Fire. --
To take ground to the right or
To take ground to the left (Mil.), to extend the line to the right or left; to move, as troops, to the right or left. --
To take heart, to gain confidence or courage; to be encouraged. --
To take heed, to be careful or cautious. “Take heed what doom against yourself you give.” Dryden. --
To take heed to, to attend with care, as, take heed to thy ways. --
To take hold of, to seize; to fix on. --
To take horse, to mount and ride a horse. --
To take in. (a) To inclose; to fence. (b) To encompass or embrace; to comprise; to comprehend. (c) To draw into a smaller compass; to contract; to brail or furl; as, to take in sail. (d) To cheat; to circumvent; to gull; to deceive. [ Colloq. ] (e) To admit; to receive; as, a leaky vessel will take in water. (f) To win by conquest. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] For now Troy's broad-wayed town
He shall take in. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ] (g) To receive into the mind or understanding. “Some bright genius can take in a long train of propositions.” I. Watts. (h) To receive regularly, as a periodical work or newspaper; to take. [ Eng. ] --
To take in hand. See under Hand. --
To take in vain, to employ or utter as in an oath. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” Ex. xx. 7. --
To take issue. See under Issue. --
To take leave. See Leave, n., 2. --
To take a newspaper,
magazine, or the like, to receive it regularly, as on paying the price of subscription. --
To take notice, to observe, or to observe with particular attention. --
To take notice of. See under Notice. --
To take oath, to swear with solemnity, or in a judicial manner. --
To take on, to assume; to take upon one's self; as, to take on a character or responsibility. --
To take one's own course, to act one's pleasure; to pursue the measures of one's own choice. --
To take order for. See under Order. --
To take order with, to check; to hinder; to repress. [ Obs. ] Bacon. --
To take orders. (a) To receive directions or commands. (b) (Eccl.) To enter some grade of the ministry. See Order, n., 10. --
To take out. (a) To remove from within a place; to separate; to deduct. (b) To draw out; to remove; to clear or cleanse from; as, to take out a stain or spot from cloth. (c) To produce for one's self; as, to take out a patent. (d) To put an end to; as, to take the conceit out of a man. (e) To escort; as, to take out to dinner. --
To take over, to undertake; to take the management of. [ Eng. ] Cross (Life of G. Eliot). --
To take part, to share; as, they take part in our rejoicing. --
To take part with, to unite with; to join with. --
To take place,
root,
sides,
stock, etc. See under Place, Root, Side, etc. --
To take the air. (a) (Falconry) To seek to escape by trying to rise higher than the falcon; -- said of a bird. (b) See under Air. --
To take the field. (Mil.) See under Field. --
To take thought, to be concerned or anxious; to be solicitous. Matt. vi. 25, 27. --
To take to heart. See under Heart. --
To take to task, to reprove; to censure. --
To take up. (a) To lift; to raise. Hood. (b) To buy or borrow; as, to take up goods to a large amount; to take up money at the bank. (c) To begin; as, to take up a lamentation. Ezek. xix. 1. (d) To gather together; to bind up; to fasten or to replace; as, to take up raveled stitches; specifically (Surg.), to fasten with a ligature. (e) To engross; to employ; to occupy or fill; as, to take up the time; to take up a great deal of room. (f) To take permanently. “Arnobius asserts that men of the finest parts . . . took up their rest in the Christian religion.” Addison. (g) To seize; to catch; to arrest; as, to take up a thief; to take up vagabonds. (h) To admit; to believe; to receive. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] The ancients took up experiments upon credit. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ] (i) To answer by reproof; to reprimand; to berate. [ 1913 Webster ] One of his relations took him up roundly. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ] (k) To begin where another left off; to keep up in continuous succession; to take up (a topic, an activity). [ 1913 Webster ] Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ] [ 1913 Webster ] (l) To assume; to adopt as one's own; to carry on or manage; as, to take up the quarrels of our neighbors; to take up current opinions. “They take up our old trade of conquering.” Dryden. (m) To comprise; to include. “The noble poem of Palemon and Arcite . . . takes up seven years.” Dryden. (n) To receive, accept, or adopt for the purpose of assisting; to espouse the cause of; to favor. Ps. xxvii. 10. (o) To collect; to exact, as a tax; to levy; as, to take up a contribution. “Take up commodities upon our bills.” Shak. (p) To pay and receive; as, to take up a note at the bank. (q) (Mach.) To remove, as by an adjustment of parts; as, to take up lost motion, as in a bearing; also, to make tight, as by winding, or drawing; as, to take up slack thread in sewing. (r) To make up; to compose; to settle; as, to take up a quarrel. [ Obs. ] Shak. -- (s) To accept from someone, as a wager or a challenge; as, J. took M. up on his challenge. --
To take up arms. Same as To take arms, above. --
To take upon one's self. (a) To assume; to undertake; as, he takes upon himself to assert that the fact is capable of proof. (b) To appropriate to one's self; to allow to be imputed to, or inflicted upon, one's self; as, to take upon one's self a punishment. --
To take up the gauntlet. See under Gauntlet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. That which is taken, such as the quantity of fish captured at one haul or catch, or the amouont of money collected during one event; as, the box-office take. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. (Print.) The quantity or copy given to a compositor at one time. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

When flame taketh and openeth, it giveth a noise. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

In impressions from mind to mind, the impression taketh, but is overcome . . . before it work any manifest effect. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To please; to gain reception; to succeed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Each wit may praise it for his own dear sake,
And hint he writ it, if the thing should take. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To admit of being pictured, as in a photograph; as, his face does not take well. [ 1913 Webster ]

To take after. (a) To learn to follow; to copy; to imitate; as, he takes after a good pattern. (b) To resemble; as, the son takes after his father. --
To take in with, to resort to. [ Obs. ] Bacon. --
To take on, to be violently affected; to express grief or pain in a violent manner. --
To take to. (a) To apply one's self to; to be fond of; to become attached to; as, to take to evil practices. “If he does but take to you, . . . you will contract a great friendship with him.” Walpole. (b) To resort to; to betake one's self to. “Men of learning, who take to business, discharge it generally with greater honesty than men of the world.” Addison. --
To take up. (a) To stop. [ Obs. ] “Sinners at last take up and settle in a contempt of religion.” Tillotson. (b) To reform. [ Obs. ] Locke. --
To take up with. (a) To be contended to receive; to receive without opposition; to put up with; as, to take up with plain fare. “In affairs which may have an extensive influence on our future happiness, we should not take up with probabilities.” I. Watts. (b) To lodge with; to dwell with. [ Obs. ] L'Estrange. --
To take with, to please. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

obs. p. p. of Take. Taken. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

n. Imposition; fraud. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

p. p. of Take. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. to begin a leap from a surface or a flight into the air; especially, (of a bird or an airplane) to leave the ground and begin to fly; as, flight CA123 took off on schedule at 3:00 PM. [ PJC ]

2. To begin a period of accelerating growth or development; as, the economy took off in the third quarter. [ PJC ]

3. To begin a journey; to depart. [ PJC ]

v. t. 1. To remove, as from the surface or outside; to remove from the top of anything; as, to take off a load; to take off one's hat, coat or other article of clothing; to take off a coat of paint from a surface. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. To cut off; as, to take off the head, or a limb. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To destroy; as, to take off life. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To remove; to invalidate; as, to take off the force of an argument. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To withdraw; to call or draw away; as, the director took him off the project. Locke. [ 1913 Webster + PJC ]

6. To swallow; as, to take off a glass of wine. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To purchase; to take in trade. “The Spaniards having no commodities that we will take off.” Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To copy; to reproduce. “Take off all their models in wood.” Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To imitate; to mimic; to personate. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To find place for; to dispose of; as, more scholars than preferments can take off. [ R. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. To discount or deduct (from a price); the dealer took off twenty percent on remaining toys. [ PJC ]

n. 1. An imitation, especially in the way of caricature; -- used with of or on; as, the comedian did a hilarious takeoff on the president. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. The spot at which one takes off; specif., the place from which a jumper rises in leaping. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

The take-off should be selected with great care, and a pit of large dimensions provided on the landing side. Encyc. of Sport. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. The beginning of a leap from a surface or a flight into the air, especially the process or event of an airplane leaving the ground and beginning its flight; as, the takeoff of flight CA123 was scheduled for 3:00 PM. [ PJC ]

n. (Business, Finance) The acquisition of ownership of one company by another company, usually by purchasing a controlling percentage of its stock or by exchanging stock of the purchasing company for that of the purchased company. It is a hostile takeover if the management of the company being taken over is opposed to the deal. A hostile takeover is sometimes organized by a corporate raider.
Syn. -- acquisition, buyout [ WordNet 1.5 ]