take on

verb

took on; taken on; taking on; takes on

transitive verb

1

a

: to begin to perform or deal with : undertake

took on new responsibilities

b

: to contend with as an opponent

took on the neighborhood bully

2

: engage, hire

3

a

: to assume or acquire as or as if one's own

… the city's plaza takes on a carnival air.

—W. T. LeViness

b

: to have as a mathematical domain or range

what values does the function take on

intransitive verb

: to show one's feelings especially of grief or anger in a demonstrative way

… she cried, and took on like a distracted body …

—Daniel Defoe

Synonyms of take on

• meet
• face
• encounter

Examples of take on in a Sentence

will take on his chief opponent in the next political debate

decided to take her on as store manager

Recent Examples on the Web

While Brockman took on a less public-facing role at the company after Altman became CEO in 2019, to many inside the company, Brockman is both the engine and the metronome of OpenAI. —Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025

Sheamus will battle Shinsuke Nakamura in one of the Raw matches, while Damian Priest takes on Rusev in the other. —Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Ellis took on civil rights lawsuits and white-collar criminal defense for nearly 20 years before former President Barack Obama appointed her to the federal bench during his second term. —Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025

The blessing of that guy — who has taken on some pretty impossible odds and pulled them off — was absolutely incredible. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for take on

• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• chitosan
• cynodon
• denouement
• deuteron
• echelon

Kids Definition

take on

verb

1

: to struggle with as an opponent

2

: employ entry 1 sense 2

took on more workers

3

: to acquire (as an appearance or quality) as one's own

take on weight

4

: to make an unusual show of one's feelings especially of grief or anger

don't take on so