take 1 of 2

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as in to accommodate
to make or have room for I think we can take two more in this elevator

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as in to work
to produce a desired effect it will be a few hours before this medication takes

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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as in to receive
to offer entrance (as to a place, school, or privilege) to the school takes only a small percentage of the thousands of applicants

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take

2 of 2

noun

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as in reaction
action or behavior that is done in return to other action or behavior what's your take on the announcement that the senior vice president is taking an early retirement?

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as in yield
the total amount collected or obtained especially at one time who will win the poker tournament and collect the whole take?

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as in share
something belonging to, due to, or contributed by an individual member of a group because there were so many winners of the jackpot, each person's take will be smaller than expected

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as in interpretation
a distinct treatment of something (as a story or a play) despite its contemporary setting, this take on King Lear isn't particularly novel or insightful

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word take different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of take are clutch, grab, grasp, seize, and snatch. While all these words mean "to get hold of by or as if by catching up with the hand," take is a general term applicable to any manner of getting something into one's possession or control.

take some salad from the bowl

In what contexts can clutch take the place of take?

In some situations, the words clutch and take are roughly equivalent. However, clutch suggests avidity or anxiety in seizing or grasping and may imply less success in holding.

clutching her purse

How are the words grab and snatch related as synonyms of take?

Grab implies more roughness or rudeness than snatch.

grabbed roughly by the arm

Where would grasp be a reasonable alternative to take?

While the synonyms grasp and take are close in meaning, grasp stresses a laying hold so as to have firmly in possession.

grasp the handle and pull

When is seize a more appropriate choice than take?

While in some cases nearly identical to take, seize implies a sudden and forcible movement in getting hold of something tangible or an apprehending of something fleeting or elusive when intangible.

seized the suspect

How do snatch and seize relate to one another, in the sense of take?

Snatch suggests more suddenness or quickness but less force than seize.

snatched a doughnut and ran

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of take
Verb
But take another second and pick up a few greeting cards, too. Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 26 Jan. 2025 For 41 years, the policy has served as a partisan touchpoint in American politics, with each party taking opposite stances. Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 26 Jan. 2025
Noun
Details behind this new take are being kept under wraps. Justin Kroll, Deadline, 21 Jan. 2025 The monthly takes have been $11,969,318 in 21 days of March; $18,945,301 in April; $11,354,462 in May; $7,254,407 in June; $7,600,687 in July; $7,600,687 in August; $12,611,330 in September; $8,758,757 in October; and $14,057,587 in November. Alan Wooten | The Center Square, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 20 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for take 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for take
Verb
  • She’s currently being held without bail at the Lawrence County Jail.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Swift holds the lifetime record for most nominations in the category — with eight — and, remarkably, has yet to score a win here.
    Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Love Island, meanwhile, aired its sixth season last summer and has a number of spinoffs.
    Peter White, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025
  • More than 300,000 people have a monthly membership, according to the company.
    Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • He’s got quite a fastball and has some creativity to him.
    Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
  • Instead of taking a three-score lead in that game, the Lions failed to get a first down.
    Mike Sando, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Rather than revolutionizing its industry through bold, innovative, and risky endeavors, Toyota chose incremental but relentless improvement.
    H. James Wilson and Paul R. Daugherty, Harvard Business Review, 24 Jan. 2025
  • But — and this is a notable but — four of those five lost in the era beween 1945 and 2009, when there were only five best picture nominees and the category’s winner was chosen by a popular vote, as opposed to the preferential, or ranked, ballot that was employed prior to and since that period.
    Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The bottom line: What's bad for the companies looking to sell AI products is likely to be good for the companies looking to buy them.
    Felix Salmon, Axios, 28 Jan. 2025
  • America may have bought itself time with restrictions on chip exports, but its AI lead just shrank dramatically despite those actions.
    CNN.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • In such cases, the Baseball Writers' Association of America needs to step in after reviewing every ballot.
    Raul A. Reyes, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025
  • America and the world need high quality, fair-minded, trustworthy sources of news more than ever.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Shake-it-up hire: Deion Sanders, Colorado coach Would the spotlight in Dallas shine wide enough to accommodate two larger-than-life personalities (Sanders, Jones) instead of just one (Jones)?
    Mike Sando, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Perle was underwriting it and finally had to rent a hall to accommodate the troops.
    CBS News, CBS News, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Despite them being one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference this season, New York still has some pieces to work with on the trade block.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 19 Jan. 2025
  • Morgan Ortagus, nominated by Mr. Trump as a deputy special presidential envoy to the Middle East, worked as a network contributor for only two months in early 2019.
    Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near take

Cite this Entry

“Take.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/take. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

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