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

At precisely 6:45 a.m. the rowdiness ceases as Sailor, a union safety expert, takes the floor for his weekly lecture.

—Jack Friedman

2

: 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

3

: 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

Examples of take the floor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Former Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Tobin Anderson showed his basketball team a video of a lion attacking an elephant just before taking the floor as a No. 16 seed in the 2023 men’s NCAA Tournament. —Christopher Kamrani, New York Times, 14 May 2025

Instead, an onslaught of injuries prevented those five from taking the floor together. —Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025

Some of the biggest stars in the NBA will take the floor, including Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Apr. 2025

Regardless of who took the floor, the Suns played from night to night with inconsistent energy levels, even from quarter to quarter within the same game, until flaming out completely the past few weeks. —Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 11 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for take the floor

• conquistador
• forevermore
• hereinbefore
• kinetochore
• kwashiorkor
• abhor
• abor
• adore
• afore
• ardour
• ashore
• backdoor