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

Still, many labor for long hours in extreme heat without shade, without reliable access to clean water, and without the basic protections most Floridians take for granted. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2026

Cyclosporiasis is treated with the oral antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), commonly sold as Bactrim, Septra and Cotrim, and taken for 10 days, according to the CDC. — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 10 July 2026

More than two billion people around the world lack the safe normal drinking water that the first world takes for granted. — Simon Heptinstall, New Atlas, 9 July 2026

Many of the everyday interactions previous generations took for granted now happen less frequently. — Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 8 July 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