What are the phrasal verbs with “Take” in English?

The verb “take” is an irregular verb and one of the most common verbs in English. Its main forms are presented in the table:

Infinitive	Past Simple	Past Participle
to take	took	taken

Phrasal verbs with “take” in English can have many different meanings. For example:

• take off – to remove (clothing), to rise into the air (a plane), to start doing something (work)
• take on – to accept (a challenge), to hire or recruit (employees), to resemble (someone)
• take over – to assume control, to replace (someone), to occupy (a territory)
• take out – to remove or extract, to escort (someone) out, to order (food)
• take in – to absorb (information), to host (guests), to make smaller (clothing)

Let’s look in more detail at some common phrasal verbs with “take” in English, examples of how they are used, and what they can mean.

The most popular phrasal verbs with “take”

Let’s consider the most popular phrasal verbs with “take”, their meanings and examples of use.

Take after

• Meaning: To resemble a family member in appearance, behavior, or aptitude.
• Example: Everyone says I take after my father with my passion for science.

Take off

• Meaning: To rise into the air (about a plane).
• Example: The plane will take off in ten minutes.
• Meaning: To become very popular or successful very quickly.
• Example: The new smartphone model really took off in the market.
• Meaning: To begin operating, developing, or gathering speed.
• Example: The new business venture really took off.

Take on

• Meaning: To accept or take on a responsibility or task.
• Example: She decided to take on the new project.
• Meaning: To accept someone or something as a challenge or opponent.
• Example: He took on the reigning champion in the boxing match.

Take up

• Meaning: To begin studying or practicing something as a hobby.
• Example: He took up painting in his spare time.
• Meaning: To accept an invitation or offer.
• Example: She took up the offer to work overseas.
• Meaning: To begin discussing something.
• Example: Let’s not take up this issue at the meeting today.
• Meaning: To begin utilizing or engaging in something that wasn’t previously used or considered.
• Example: She took up yoga to help her relax after work.

Take over

• Meaning: To assume control, responsibility, or ownership of something.
• Example: The new manager will take over the department.
• Meaning: To seize control or leadership of something.
• Example: The rebels plan to take over the government.
• Meaning: To exercise control or influence over someone or something.
• Example: The dictator took over the media to control the flow of information.
• Meaning: To begin overseeing or managing various aspects of life.
• Example: The new manager will take over the team starting next week.

Take in

• Meaning: To understand or absorb something.
• Example: It took me a while to take in the magnitude of what had happened.
• Meaning: To accept someone into one’s family or home.
• Example: They took in a stray cat and now it’s part of their family.
• Meaning: To trick or deceive someone.
• Example: She was taken in by his charm and ended up trusting him.
• Meaning:To accept new people into a group or organization.
• Example: The company took in several new employees last month.
• Meaning: To make something smaller than it seems.
• Example: The dress was too big for her, so she had to take it in.
• Meaning: To accommodate or allow someone to live in one’s house or place.
• Example: They decided to take in a lodger to help with the rent.

Take out

• Meaning: To remove something from a place or order takeout food from a restaurant.
• Example: She took out her wallet and paid for the groceries.
• Meaning: To take out a loan or line of credit.
• Example: They took out a loan to buy their first house.
• Meaning: To escort someone on a date.
• Example: He took her out for dinner to celebrate their anniversary.
• Meaning: To renovate or redo something.
• Example: He took out the old flooring and replaced it with hardwood.

Take down

• Meaning: To dismantle something or record something that was said or written.
• Example: The secretary took down the minutes of the meeting.
• Meaning: To disprove or tear down someone’s plans or arguments.
• Example: His opponent’s speech really took him down a peg.

Take apart

• Meaning: To dismantle something into its component parts.
• Example: He took apart the engine to see what was causing the problem.

Take to

• Meaning: To begin to like or enjoy someone or something.
• Example: She took to her new colleague immediately and they became good friends.
• Meaning: To begin to learn or engage in a new activity.
• Example: She took to playing the piano like a natural.

Take away

• Meaning: To remove or carry something off.
• Example: Can I take away these leftovers from dinner?

Take back

• Meaning: To return a purchased item or revoke one’s words.
• Example: I need to take back this shirt because it doesn’t fit.

Take through

• Meaning: To guide someone through a process or set of instructions, giving a detailed explanation.
• Example: Let me take you through the steps of assembling this furniture.

Take aback

• Meaning: To surprise or shock someone, eliciting an unexpected reaction.
• Example: His sudden resignation took us all aback.

Take upon

• Meaning: To take on a duty or responsibility without asking or being ordered to do so.
• Example: She took it upon herself to organize the charity event.

Take for

• Meaning: To mistakenly identify something or someone as something else, thinking it is something other than what it is.
• Example: I’m sorry, I took you for someone else because of the similar coat you’re wearing.

Take it

• Meaning: To receive or understand something in a certain way, usually as it is or as one is told.
• Example: When I told him the news, he didn’t take it well; he was quite upset.