take for

verb

took for; taken for; taking for; takes for

transitive verb

: to suppose (someone) to be (a particular kind of person) : to perceive (someone) as (something)

What do you take me for?

"I think I do understand. I'm not such a dull fellow as you take me for."

—Lucy Maud Montgomery

… a usually commonsensical fellow who was anything but the … clod some people took him for.

—Robert Sherrill

Please do not take me for a wimp—one of those pallid, selfless creatures who shuns disagreements entirely.

—Maggie Scarf

Examples of take for in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film’s achievements will likely not be taken for granted. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026

Her two younger siblings, then ages 6 and 7, were also taken for emergency medical treatment and spent three weeks in the hospital recovering from severe malnutrition. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026

But, outside of cosmopolitan sections of Tel Aviv, Herzliya, and Haifa, the liberalism that fuelled his humor couldn’t be taken for granted. — Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026

The union said Baitinger-Peterson and his family have also been subjected to threats, and appropriate precautions are being taken for their safety. — Tesfaye Negussie, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take for

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• carnivore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore
• heretofore