take the floor

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

This month, Watkins and Davidson finally were able to take the floor together, just as Gottlieb had envisioned. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026

Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox took the floor for a game in Milwaukee with a headband on, in hopes of throwing his look back to his high school days at Cypress Lakes in Katy. — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Apr. 2026

So the weight of the state was on again their shoulders when the women’s team started off against Notre Dame Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas, and the men’s took the floor in the nation’s capital against Duke. — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2026

The girls basketball state tournament tips off Wednesday on the University of Minnesota campus, with Class 4A quarterfinals taking the floor during the day at Williams Arena and the Class 3A tournament getting underway across the hall at Maturi Pavilion. — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 10 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for take the floor

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