take after

verb

took after; taken after; taking after; takes after

transitive verb

: to resemble (someone) in features, build, character, or disposition

a daughter who takes after her mother

"That's Tulliver's son," said the publican to a grocer standing on the adjacent door-step. "Ah!" said the grocer, "I thought I knew his features. He takes after his mother's family."

—George Eliot

"His father was lazy but his mother hasn't a lazy bone in her body, and Peter takes after her."

—Lucy Maud Montgomery

Examples of take after in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Yellow median posts block the kind of dramatic U-turn Knight took after the shooting, driving furiously back toward The Strip as blood trickled down his face. — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Video taken after Jando’s arrest shows him being escorted in handcuffs by a squad of Mexican commandos. — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

As of Wednesday night, the peacock is recovering at the Pasadena Humane Society, where it was taken after it was found injured and disoriented by Los Angeles County Animal Control officers. — Nicole Comstock, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

The Parent Trap star Elaine Hendrix might’ve just done a double-take after seeing Margot Robbie’s outfit on the set of the upcoming Ocean’s Eleven prequel. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take after

• hereinafter
• thereinafter
• drafter
• laughter
• rafter
• hereafter
• thereafter