1
as in to lift
to move from a lower to a higher place or position
please take up the blanket so I can look underneath it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to borrow
to take for one's own use (something originated by another)
one cluster of fans started chanting the team name of the champions, and the crowd quickly took up the cry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of take up
The Supreme Court justices agreed and did not take up the challenge.
—
Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
House lawmakers are scheduled to take up and vote on the bill Wednesday.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
The most recent location is its biggest yet, taking up more than 10,700 square feet of Fukuoka’s JR Hakata City Amu Plaza’s eighth floor in November 2025.
—Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2026
These surfaces take up a large portion of your home’s visible exterior.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for take up
Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
House lawmakers are scheduled to take up and vote on the bill Wednesday.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
The most recent location is its biggest yet, taking up more than 10,700 square feet of Fukuoka’s JR Hakata City Amu Plaza’s eighth floor in November 2025.
—Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2026
These surfaces take up a large portion of your home’s visible exterior.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for take up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for take up
Verb
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Hired by Hornets co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin in April 2024 to bring the franchise out of its decade-long doldrum, and joined at the hip with coach Charles Lee, Peterson has quickly lifted the Hornets to respectability, pushing Charlotte among the NBA’s rising teams.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2026
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Andrés Giménez chased after one above the zone, lifting a shallow fly ball that Teoscar Hernández could corral without allowing a run to score.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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One night, at a house party, John and I ended up in the back yard, drinking beer.—
Jeffrey Eugenides,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
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Younger consumers are drinking more deliberately, agreed Caroline Begley, vice president of marketing for Pernod Ricard USA in New York City.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His rhetoric has helped sustain one of the fastest cash burns of any startup in history, relying on partners that have borrowed vast sums.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Unfortunately, tight money coupled with spend-and-borrow Reaganomics, drove the value of the dollar high.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The school also received a Rotary Club grant, and its PTA also raised a significant amount of money.—
Molly McCrea,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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But the arc — first raising expectations for a big reveal, then declaring there was nothing to see, and ultimately a forced, flawed document dump — was a stubbornly problematic storyline that ran through her time as attorney general.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Stony rubbish, dead trees, the odd corpse in the garden—nothing that couldn’t be absorbed back into the earth.—
Caroline Fraser,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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In more severe cases of hair loss, a doctor might prescribe oral minoxidil, which is generally absorbed better by the body but also typically comes with more side effects.—
Rebecca Strong,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The shelter is adopting out the remaining chihuahuas (Fieto, Baby, Lola and Missy) in pairs.—
Amanda Rosa
April 9,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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Trump compared Starmer's approach to Iran to former United Kingdom Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who adopted an appeasement policy toward Nazi Germany during World War II.—
Elaine Mallon,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Bruce elevated her legs on a life jacket and wiped away the tears while two flight attendants stared down at her with vacant impatience.—
Catherine Lacey,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
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Colagreco’s hero restaurant espouses a sustainable gastronomy—in this case, elevating the humble British vegetable.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As so many of his peers have run from that reality, Self is embracing the challenge, with precisely nothing left to prove.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
2 Apr. 2026
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Designed by the architecture firm Minarc with interiors by MYMM, the home embraces a welcoming Scandi-chic aesthetic.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Take up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/take%20up. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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