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take Idioms

take a backseat to (someone or something)

- to accept a poorer or lower position than someone, to be second to someone or something
I had to take a backseat to my boss when we went on the business trip.

take a bath (on something)

- to come to financial ruin, to lose much money on something
My aunt took a bath on the stock market last year and she is afraid to buy stocks now.

take a beating

- to lose money
My father took a beating when he sold his car.

take a bow

- to bow and receive credit for a good performance
The violinist stopped to take a bow before she went backstage with the orchestra.

take a break

- to have a short rest period in one's work
I stopped to take a break after working all morning.

take a chance/risk

- to try something where failure or bad fortune is likely
I plan to take a chance and visit my friend without phoning first.

take a course in (something)

- to enroll in a class to study/learn something
I am planning to take a course in photography next year.

take a crack at (something)

- to try/attempt to do something
"Have you decided to take a crack at writing the entrance examination?"

take a dig at (someone)

- to criticize someone, to say something that will irritate someone
The man is always taking a dig at his wife.

take a dim view of (something)

- to be against something, to disapprove of something
Our company takes a dim view of people who do not wear a suit and tie.

take a fancy/liking to (someone or something)

- to develop a fondness or a preference for someone or something
The woman took a fancy to the new person who she was working with.

take a gander at (someone or something)

- to examine someone or something
I asked the car mechanic to take a gander at the steering system on my car.

take a hand in (something)

- to help plan or do something
The man is always ready to take a hand in any work that needs to be done.

take a hard line (with someone)

- to be firm with someone, to have a firm policy for dealing with someone
The company takes a hard line with people who come to work late.

take a hint

- to understand what is hinted at and behave accordingly
The man is unable to take a hint and does not notice when people are angry at him.

take a leaf out of (someone's) book

- to behave or do something in the way that someone else would
We plan to take a leaf out of our competitor's book and advertise our product on the Internet.

take a leak

- to urinate
The man stopped at the side of the road to take a leak when he was walking home last night.

take a look at (someone or something)

- to examine (usually briefly) someone or something
I will take a look at the problem with the computer tomorrow.

take a look for (someone or something)

- to look for someone or something
Tomorrow I will take a look for the pen which I lost.

take a nap

- to have a brief period of sleep
I stopped to take a nap before I continued driving to see my parents.

take a new turn

- to begin a new course or direction
The campaign to clean up the river took a new turn when the large electricity company joined in the campaign.

take a potshot at (someone or something)

- to criticize someone or something
The mayor of the city decided to take a potshot at his opponent in the election.

take a powder

- to leave quickly, to run away
I think that our boss took a powder right after the meeting.

take a punch at (someone)

- to strike someone with one's fist
The man in the restaurant suddenly took a punch at the waiter.

take a shine to (someone)

- to have or show a quick liking for someone
Our daughter took a shine to her new teacher and is very happy at school now.

take a shot/stab at (doing something)

- to try to do something
I plan to take a shot at golfing when I am on vacation.

take a shower/bath

- to bathe
I usually take a shower when I get home from work.

take a spill

- to have a fall, to tip over
The little boy took a spill when he was trying to learn how to ride his bicycle.

take a stand on (something)

- to declare firmly that one is for or against something
The politician was forced to take a stand on the tax issue.

take a toll on (someone or something)

- to damage/hurt someone or something by using it too much or by hard living
The stress and long hours at work are beginning to take a toll on my friend.

take a trip

- to go for a journey
We plan to take a trip to Italy in November.

take a turn for the better

- to start to improve or get well
The medical condition of my uncle has recently taken a turn for the better.

take a turn for the worse

- to start to get worse
The condition of the patient suddenly took a turn for the worse.

take a vacation

- to go somewhere for a vacation
I have much stress at work and I want to take a vacation next month.

take a whack at (someone)

- to hit someone
The man on the bus suddenly took a whack at the man sitting beside him.

take a whack at (something)

- to try something
I took a whack at fixing the car but I was unsuccessful.

take advantage of (someone or something)

- to use someone or something for one`s own benefit
We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the beach.

take after (someone)

- to resemble or act like someone (usually a parent or relative)
The boy is tall and handsome like his father and takes after him in other ways as well.

take aim at (someone or something)

- to aim a gun/camera/policy at someone or something, to focus one's attention at someone or something
The police department plan to take aim at people who do not stop at stop signs.

take an interest in (something)

- to develop an interest in something
Recently my cousin has taken an interest in fishing.

take an oath

- to make an oath, to swear to something
I had to take an oath before I could answer questions at the public hearing.

take attendance

- to make a record of persons attending something
Our teacher always takes attendance when we arrive in the morning.

take back (something)

- to admit to making a wrong statement
The man was asked to take back what he had said about his boss.

take care of (someone or something)

- to look after or give attention to someone or something
You should take care of your health or you will become sick.

take care of (something)

- to deal with something, to do what is necessary to accomplish something
"Could you please take care of these letters while I make some phone calls."

take charge of (someone or something)

- to take control of someone or something
The new supervisor quickly took charge of the staff in the fast food restaurant.

take down (something)

- to write or record something that is said at a meeting/lecture/discussion
I took down many notes during the lecture last week.

take down (something)

- to take something apart, to pull something to pieces
We took down our tent when it began to rain.

take effect

- to become legally operative, to begin
The new traffic laws took effect early last month.

take exception to (something)

- to speak against something, to find fault with something, to be angered by something
The man took exception to the fact that everyone was able to play golf except him.

take five

- to take a five-minute rest period
We decided to take five before continuing with our work.

Posted by Learning English through Idioms and Sayings/ Proverbs