19 Most Common Phrasal Verbs with Take!

It will take some time to learn all the phrasal verbs, so let’s take a look at them one by one. Below you will see the most common ones with the verb ’take’.

Phrasal Verbs with TAKE

1. be taken aback
to be shocked

• I’d been taken aback by his behaviour at first, but it didn’t seem so shocking later on.

2. take after somebody
resemble a parent (looks or behaviour)

• I take after my mother; I have the same hair colour and the same green eyes. Who do you take after?

3. take away
remove something from somebody / subtract (mathematics)/ carry food home from a restaurant

• Dad! Josh wants to take away my doll. Come and help me!
• If you have five apples and take away two, you’re left with three.
• A sandwich and a large Coke to take away, please.
  

4. take away from something
make the value of something seem less

• The fact that she’d cheated in the exam took away from her achievements.

5. take something apart
to disassemble

• I think you should take the keyboard apart to clean it properly.

6. take something back
to say that you don’t really mean what you’ve said or written

• Okay, okay, I’ll take it back. You’re not the worst singer I’ve ever heard.
  

7. take down
separate the pieces of a structure / write down

• We’ll have to take down the cupboard if we want to paint the walls.
• My colleague will show you the flat while I take down your personal details.

8. take for something
to regard as

• I don’t like being taken for an idiot.
• I won’t take no for an answer.
  

9. take in
give home to somebody / notice, absorb (and understand) / make clothes tighter/ to deceive

• Last week I took in a kitten and she’s already the queen of the house.
• I took in every word he said. It was an amazing speech.
• I’ll have this dress taken in at the waist, it’s too big.
• I’m easily taken in, so please don’t lie to me.
  

10. take off
remove clothing / remove hair (at the hairdresser’s) / airplane begins to fly/ to leave/ to become successful

• You don’t have to take off your shoes, just go right ahead.
• Can you take off just a little at the back, please?
• The plane took off twenty minutes late, but landed on time.
• They took off in the middle of the party.
• My career took off immediately after I’d graduated.

11. take on
accept a job, responsibility / to employ, hire somebody

• I can’t take on any extra work, I’m too busy.
• They want to take on ten more assistants.

12. take over
gain control

• You can stop now, I’ll take over from here.
• Unfortunately, my company was taken over by a multinational firm and I lost my job.

13. take out
invite and go out with someone (to a restaurant, theater, disco etc) / to obtain some service/ get money from your bank account/ to kill somebody

• George is taking me out to dinner tonight.
• I had to take out a loan to start my business.
• Let’s stop at the ATM. I need to take out some money.
• The serial killer was taken out by snipers.
  

14. take (it) out on somebody
make someone feel bad, because you are feeling bad too

• Hey, I understand that you’ve had a horrible day, but don’t take it out on me.
  

15. take somebody through something
to explain something in detail to somebody

• I hope the instructions were clear. I can take you through it again if you want.
  

16. take to
to start liking/ to make a habit

• I’d been worried whether my dog would get on well with the new puppy. I shouldn’t have worried- he took to it immediately.
• I’ve taken to drinking my coffee black- I’d like to lose weight.
  

17. take up
start a new sport, hobby, school subject / fill space (or time)/ start again, resume

• When I’m fluent in English, I’ll take up Spanish lessons.
• This cupboard takes up too much space, I don’t want it in my living-room.
• We took up where we had left off.
  

18. take somebody up on something
accept an offer

• You’re always welcome to stay with us when you’re in Paris.
• Thank you, I’ll take you up on that the next time I come to France.
  

19. take something up with somebody
mention something in order to seek help from somebody

• Why don’t you take the matter up with your local MP (Member of Parliament)? I’m sure he or she could help.

More for you:
TAKE UP definition (phrasal verb)
Difference between TAKE and GET
Difference Between BRING and TAKE!
Other Ways to Say “Take Care”!

I hope you’ve taken an interest in phrasal verbs. Remember: the verb ‘take’ also has many different meanings in itself, why not revise them here and now? It takes time and practice to learn a foreign language.