1
as in stood in
to serve as a replacement usually for a time only
I'll take over for her until she gets back from her morning break
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in accepted
to take to or upon oneself
took over the responsibility of caring for the animals
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in commandeered
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
students protesting the war took over the college's radio station
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of taken over
In the ’90s, the peninsula was taken over by a string of summer-only nightclubs, with little regard for the natural surroundings or the ancient cemetery buried in the pine forest.
—
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Apr. 2026
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over the investigation.
—Nikiya Carrero, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
The Mizzou basketball program was in shambles in 1967 when it was taken over by Stewart, the Shelbyville native and True Son who’d starred on Missouri’s basketball and baseball teams in the 1950s.
—Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
Now, he’s taken over the family business.
—Ray Padilla, Louisville Courier Journal, 7 Mar. 2026
The case was taken over by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida.
—Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
After six years as co-host of CBS Mornings, the 45-year-old journalist has taken over the anchor chair at CBS Evening News, a role once held by the likes of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather.
—Sean Mandell, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
As a pilgrimage for generations of Colorado families, business owners, workers and visitors, as Coors put it, the Stock Show continues to stand out with its physical fellowship, and not the impersonal commerce, Zoom calls or social media messaging that have taken over business.
—John Wenzel, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Puma’s Popovic believes unsanctioned races have taken over for run clubs as the best form of community building.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 11 Nov. 2025
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Apr. 2026
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over the investigation.
—Nikiya Carrero, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
The Mizzou basketball program was in shambles in 1967 when it was taken over by Stewart, the Shelbyville native and True Son who’d starred on Missouri’s basketball and baseball teams in the 1950s.
—Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
Now, he’s taken over the family business.
—Ray Padilla, Louisville Courier Journal, 7 Mar. 2026
The case was taken over by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida.
—Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
After six years as co-host of CBS Mornings, the 45-year-old journalist has taken over the anchor chair at CBS Evening News, a role once held by the likes of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather.
—Sean Mandell, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
As a pilgrimage for generations of Colorado families, business owners, workers and visitors, as Coors put it, the Stock Show continues to stand out with its physical fellowship, and not the impersonal commerce, Zoom calls or social media messaging that have taken over business.
—John Wenzel, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Puma’s Popovic believes unsanctioned races have taken over for run clubs as the best form of community building.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taken over
Verb
-
In the promo poster for the show, all actors are facing the camera, while he alone is stood in the middle facing the opposite way.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Hegseth came out of his own service, in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the seeming conviction that what had stood in the way of a fuller victory in those wars had been the restraints supposedly placed on how soldiers could kill.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And when property rights are defined and broadly accepted, people are more likely to cooperate than to fight.—
Antony Davies,
Boston Herald,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Williams and Whitehouse, though, have both said the tryout fees for Flight 88 will go directly toward uniform, travel and education costs, and that the program isn’t planning to charge any additional costs for athletes once accepted.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The mass grave by the University of Sudan, which was near a building the RSF commandeered as a detention center, likely contains thousands of corpses, al-Abidin said.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
-
As Afeef shared from Ras Beirut’s Public Secondary School, many of the displaced are sleeping in school buildings, which have been commandeered as emergency shelters for hundreds of people.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But the lead genealogist on Joan Nathan’s case, Moriah Amit, found additional information and documents that filled in some blanks on the Bernheim family, and helped fit the family into that tragic part of German-Jewish history.—
Jackie Hajdenberg,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Hoda Kotb, Sheinelle Jones and Laura Jarrett were among the familiar faces who filled in for Guthrie during her absence.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As a reluctant child of the Ain’t it Cool News era, the Drafthouse had long assumed some kind of legendary status in my mind.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Investors have assumed that geopolitical tensions will eventually fade and markets will rebound.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But Israel's military told them explicitly not to, and Lebanese army vehicles were still blocking the path to some southern areas on Friday, the BBC reported, including the entrance to Khiam, which is still occupied by Israeli soldiers.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Syria — which occupied a dismal third place in 2024 — has made the most dramatic exit, plunging all the way to 33rd following the fall of the Assad regime.—
Steve H. Hanke,
Fortune,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Fast forward to the eighth inning when Willy Adames stepped in the box to face the Reds’ Connor Phillips.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
In the 1990s, as Eastern European countries emerged from communism, Americans stepped in to help build not only free markets, but also antitrust agencies that looked something like our DOJ Antitrust Division.—
Gail Slater,
Rolling Stone,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
An effort to come up with a new mascot was undertaken in 2014 but ultimately stalled when the committee charged with choosing the winner could not decide between a fox or a lion, Pennington said.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The suit, filed Monday, claims the plan to open a new city men’s intake center at 8 East 3rd St was rushed and undertaken without enough public review.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Taken over.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taken%20over. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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