"taking" in the noun sense
1. pickings, taking
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
"the pickings were easy"
"clothing could be had for the taking"
"taking" in the verb sense
1. take
carry out
"take action"
"take steps"
"take vengeance"
2. take, occupy, use up
require (time or space
"It took three hours to get to work this morning"
"This event occupied a very short time"
3. lead, take, direct, conduct, guide
take somebody somewhere
"We lead him to our chief"
"can you take me to the main entrance?"
"He conducted us to the palace"
4. take, get hold of
get into one's hands, take physically
"Take a cookie!"
"Can you take this bag, please"
5. assume, acquire, adopt, take on, take
take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect
"His voice took on a sad tone"
"The story took a new turn"
"he adopted an air of superiority"
"She assumed strange manners"
"The gods assume human or animal form in these fables"
6. take, read
interpret something in a certain way convey a particular meaning or impression
"I read this address as a satire"
"How should I take this message?"
7. bring, convey, take
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
"Bring me the box from the other room"
"Take these letters to the boss"
"This brings me to the main point"
8. take
take into one's possession
"We are taking an orphan from Romania"
"I'll take three salmon steaks"
9. take
travel or go by means of a certain kind of transportation, or a certain route
"He takes the bus to work"
"She takes Route 1 to Newark"
10. choose, take, select, pick out
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
"Take any one of these cards"
"Choose a good husband for your daughter"
"She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"
11. accept, take, have
receive willingly something given or offered
"The only girl who would have him was the miller's daughter"
"I won't have this dog in my house!"
"Please accept my present"
12. fill, take, occupy
assume, as of positions or roles
"She took the job as director of development"
"he occupies the position of manager"
"the young prince will soon occupy the throne"
13. consider, take, deal, look at
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
"Take the case of China"
"Consider the following case"
14. necessitate, ask, postulate, need, require, take, involve, call for, demand
require as useful, just, or proper
"It takes nerve to do what she did"
"success usually requires hard work"
"This job asks a lot of patience and skill"
"This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice"
"This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert"
"This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent"
15. take
experience or feel or submit to
"Take a test"
"Take the plunge"
16. film, shoot, take
make a film or photograph of something
"take a scene"
"shoot a movie"
17. remove, take, take away, withdraw
remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
"remove a threat"
"remove a wrapper"
"Remove the dirty dishes from the table"
"take the gun from your pocket"
"This machine withdraws heat from the environment"
18. consume, ingest, take in, take, have
serve oneself to, or consume regularly
"Have another bowl of chicken soup!"
"I don't take sugar in my coffee"
19. take, submit
accept or undergo, often unwillingly
"We took a pay cut"
20. take, accept
make use of or accept for some purpose
"take a risk"
"take an opportunity"
21. take
take by force
"Hitler took the Baltic Republics"
"The army took the fort on the hill"
22. assume, take, strike, take up
occupy or take on
"He assumes the lotus position"
"She took her seat on the stage"
"We took our seats in the orchestra"
"She took up her position behind the tree"
"strike a pose"
23. accept, admit, take, take on
admit into a group or community
"accept students for graduate study"
"We'll have to vote on whether or not to admit a new member"
24. take
ascertain or determine by measuring, computing or take a reading from a dial
"take a pulse"
"A reading was taken of the earth's tremors"
25. learn, study, read, take
be a student of a certain subject
"She is reading for the bar exam"
26. claim, take, exact
take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs
"the accident claimed three lives"
"The hard work took its toll on her"
27. take, make
head into a specified direction
"The escaped convict took to the hills"
"We made for the mountains"
28. aim, take, train, take aim, direct
point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
"Please don't aim at your little brother!"
"He trained his gun on the burglar"
"Don't train your camera on the women"
"Take a swipe at one's opponent"
29. take
be seized or affected in a specified way
"take sick"
"be taken drunk"
30. carry, pack, take
have with oneself have on one's person
"She always takes an umbrella"
"I always carry money"
"She packs a gun when she goes into the mountains"
31. lease, rent, hire, charter, engage, take
engage for service under a term of contract
"We took an apartment on a quiet street"
"Let's rent a car"
"Shall we take a guide in Rome?"
32. subscribe, subscribe to, take
receive or obtain regularly
"We take the Times every day"
33. take
buy, select
"I'll take a pound of that sausage"
34. take
to get into a position of having, e.g., safety, comfort
"take shelter from the storm"
35. take, have
have sex with archaic use
"He had taken this woman when she was most vulnerable"
36. claim, take
lay claim to as of an idea
"She took credit for the whole idea"
37. accept, take
be designed to hold or take
"This surface will not take the dye"
38. contain, take, hold
be capable of holding or containing
"This box won't take all the items"
"The flask holds one gallon"
39. take
develop a habit
"He took to visiting bars"
40. drive, take
proceed along in a vehicle
"We drive the turnpike to work"
41. take
obtain by winning
"Winner takes all"
"He took first prize"
42. contract, take, get
be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness
"He got AIDS"
"She came down with pneumonia"
"She took a chill"
"taking" in the adjective sense
1. fetching, taking, winning
very attractive capturing interest
"a fetching new hairstyle"
"something inexpressibly taking in his manner"
"a winning personality"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
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