take the floor
idiomatic phrase
1
: to rise (as in a meeting or a legislative assembly) to begin speaking to a group
With Lott and Gramm staring at him as he took the floor during debate, McCain called the bill "seriously skewed," but said he would vote for it.—
Newsweek
NewsweekAt precisely 6:45 a.m. the rowdiness ceases as Sailor, a union safety expert, takes the floor for his weekly lecture.—Jack Friedman
Jack Friedman2
: to go out onto a dance floor to begin dancing
Several couples took the floor.
… the younger people took the floor, and all the elders sneaked back to their chairs …—Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis3
: to go out onto a basketball court to begin playing
Phillips hopes the scouts notice his quickness, his vision, … the way he changes the flow of a game as soon as he takes the floor.—John Gustafson
John Gustafson
Examples of take the floor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
All 30 teams will take the floor in Vegas with games starting July 7.
—Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 7 July 2023
When Biles takes the floor in suburban Chicago in a little more than six weeks, she'll be joined by fellow Americans Sunisa Lee, who won gold in the individual all-around in Tokyo, and Jade Carey, the floor exercise gold medalist two years ago.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 28 June 2023
Hart could take the floor against three former starting teammates in graduate student point guard Jahmir Young, fifth-year senior small forward Donta Scott and junior power forward Julian Reese.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2023
For starters, Chet Holmgren will be taking the floor for the first time in the 2023-24 season.
—Nick Crain, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2023
This time, the whistleblower behind an unprecedented leak of documents will take the floor.
—Gilad Edelman, Wired, 5 Oct. 2021
It’s been a while since Portland Trail Blazers fans saw CJ McCollum suit up and take the floor.
—oregonlive, 16 Mar. 2021
Porsha calms everyone down and lets Toya take the floor and explain herself.
—Chris Murphy, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2021
Milwaukee took a significant step and refused to take the floor for its first-round playoff game Aug. 26, calling for meaningful police reform.
—Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2020
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Anthony Gharib, USA TODAY, 7 July 2023
When Biles takes the floor in suburban Chicago in a little more than six weeks, she'll be joined by fellow Americans Sunisa Lee, who won gold in the individual all-around in Tokyo, and Jade Carey, the floor exercise gold medalist two years ago.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 28 June 2023
Hart could take the floor against three former starting teammates in graduate student point guard Jahmir Young, fifth-year senior small forward Donta Scott and junior power forward Julian Reese.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2023
For starters, Chet Holmgren will be taking the floor for the first time in the 2023-24 season.
—Nick Crain, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2023
This time, the whistleblower behind an unprecedented leak of documents will take the floor.
—Gilad Edelman, Wired, 5 Oct. 2021
It’s been a while since Portland Trail Blazers fans saw CJ McCollum suit up and take the floor.
—oregonlive, 16 Mar. 2021
Porsha calms everyone down and lets Toya take the floor and explain herself.
—Chris Murphy, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2021
Milwaukee took a significant step and refused to take the floor for its first-round playoff game Aug. 26, calling for meaningful police reform.
—Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2020
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take the floor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near take the floor
Cite this Entry
“Take the floor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20the%20floor. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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