took up; taken up; taking up; takes up
2
a
: to begin to occupy (land)
b
: to gather from a number of sources
took up a collection
3
a
: to accept or adopt for the purpose of assisting
b
: to accept or adopt as one's own
took up the life of a farmer
c
: to absorb or incorporate into itself
plants taking up nutrients
4
a
: to enter upon (something, such as a business, hobby, or subject of study)
take up skiing
took up the trumpet
b
: to proceed to consider or deal with
take up one problem at a time
5
: to establish oneself in
took up residence in town
6
: to occupy entirely or exclusively : fill up
the meeting was taken up with old business
7
: to make tighter or shorter
take up the slack
8
: to respond favorably to (a person offering a bet, challenge, proposal, etc.)
took me up on it
9
: to begin again or take over from another
we must take the good work up again
1
: to make a beginning where another has left off
2
: to become shortened : draw together : shrink
Synonyms
Examples of take-up in a Sentence
Verb
please take up the blanket so I can look underneath it
the soil was so dry that the plant seemed to take up the much-needed water instantly
Recent Examples on the Web
Anna Cooban, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
With range anxiety a major factor slowing down the take-up of EVs, that’s likely to continue: As a rule, the larger the battery the greater the range.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 11 Feb. 2024
Microsoft saw a revenue boost of 13% thanks to 29% growth in its Azure cloud operation, which was in turn driven by enthusiastic take-up of the AI features that Microsoft—via its sponsorship of OpenAI—is integrating into its services.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2023
For instance, using female role models in advertisements for a female-only software coding bootcamp increased the take-up rate in Latin America.
—Kelly Nault, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2023
The study notes that there was a slowing in the take-up of SVOD services like Netflix and Disney+, and there are indications that viewing declined in 2022, along with most other forms of viewing as total viewing fell.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Aug. 2023
Yet take-up of the newest COVID boosters, which target the BA.4 and BA.5 variants that dominated last year, is slow: Only 17% of the U.S. have gotten the booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 20 June 2023
At the 10% take-up rate, projected spending on this one drug alone would exceed spending on the top 10 Part B drugs in 2021 and would represent close to half of the total $40 billion spent on the 600+ Part B covered drugs in 2021.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 1 June 2023
Funding markets had been showing signs of stress, though pressures have subsided with the take-up of emergency measures.
—Craig Torres, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2023
Christian Allaire, Vogue, 7 Apr. 2024
Once the Senate wraps up impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, expected to take up most of lawmakers’ time next week, Schumer could put the tax bill to a vote on or shortly after the April 15 tax deadline.
—Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
Sandler memorably co-wrote, produced and starred in Happy Gilmore as a New England-area hockey player who takes up golfing as a means to make money in order to save his grandmother's home from foreclosure.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
In the near-future world depicted in the film, California and Texas align to take up arms against a fascist, corrupt third-term president who has disbanded the FBI and turned the military against U.S. civilians.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Lawmakers have yet to take up a bill to reauthorize the taxes, collectively known as the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, or FRA.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024
The issue of reparations is being taken up in states such as California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and North Carolina.
—Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Around 200,000 Lithuanians were deported to the gulags during that period, or executed for taking up arms against the occupiers.
—Tomas Dapkus, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
The Michigan Supreme Court in May 2023 declined to take up an appeal filed by the city clerk and city Election Commission.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
Noun
The outlook for Tesla is far less certain, given Chinese competition and the apparent slowdown in take-up of EVs in the United States and Europe.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
With range anxiety a major factor slowing down the take-up of EVs, that’s likely to continue: As a rule, the larger the battery the greater the range.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 11 Feb. 2024
Microsoft saw a revenue boost of 13% thanks to 29% growth in its Azure cloud operation, which was in turn driven by enthusiastic take-up of the AI features that Microsoft—via its sponsorship of OpenAI—is integrating into its services.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2023
For instance, using female role models in advertisements for a female-only software coding bootcamp increased the take-up rate in Latin America.
—Kelly Nault, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2023
The study notes that there was a slowing in the take-up of SVOD services like Netflix and Disney+, and there are indications that viewing declined in 2022, along with most other forms of viewing as total viewing fell.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Aug. 2023
Yet take-up of the newest COVID boosters, which target the BA.4 and BA.5 variants that dominated last year, is slow: Only 17% of the U.S. have gotten the booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 20 June 2023
At the 10% take-up rate, projected spending on this one drug alone would exceed spending on the top 10 Part B drugs in 2021 and would represent close to half of the total $40 billion spent on the 600+ Part B covered drugs in 2021.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 1 June 2023
Funding markets had been showing signs of stress, though pressures have subsided with the take-up of emergency measures.
—Craig Torres, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2023
Verb
Her floral-print Marni gown came complete with a dramatic A-line train, taking up space in the most fabulous way.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 7 Apr. 2024
Once the Senate wraps up impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, expected to take up most of lawmakers’ time next week, Schumer could put the tax bill to a vote on or shortly after the April 15 tax deadline.
—Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
Sandler memorably co-wrote, produced and starred in Happy Gilmore as a New England-area hockey player who takes up golfing as a means to make money in order to save his grandmother's home from foreclosure.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
In the near-future world depicted in the film, California and Texas align to take up arms against a fascist, corrupt third-term president who has disbanded the FBI and turned the military against U.S. civilians.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Lawmakers have yet to take up a bill to reauthorize the taxes, collectively known as the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, or FRA.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024
The issue of reparations is being taken up in states such as California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and North Carolina.
—Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Around 200,000 Lithuanians were deported to the gulags during that period, or executed for taking up arms against the occupiers.
—Tomas Dapkus, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
The Michigan Supreme Court in May 2023 declined to take up an appeal filed by the city clerk and city Election Commission.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near take-up
Cite this Entry
“Take-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take-up. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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