took up

past tense of take up
1
2
as in drank
to take in (something liquid) through small openings the soil was so dry that the plant seemed to take up the much-needed water instantly

Synonyms & Similar Words

3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of took up The winger spent time with family and took up new sports in golf and padel during his downtime. Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025 None of them took up the offer from the production team. Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 8 Sep. 2025 Flaws in medical devices were not a new concept that the 2023 guidance took up. Christian Espinosa, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025 The documents are dated July 17 and July 21, respectively — more than a week before the City Council took up the mayor’s request to declare the three parcels surplus property. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025 Fast forward to 1983, and another lab took up the mystery. Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 10 Aug. 2025 The other astronauts took up the name and in 2017, the International Astronomical Union, which governs official space nomenclature, broke its rule requiring features or objects named after people to to be named posthumously, and recognized Mount Marilyn. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 9 Aug. 2025 By the early sixties, the New York School had, like a wave, risen toward its own collapse, and Schuyler, recovering from a long hospitalization, took up full-time residence at Fairfield and Anne Porter’s homes in Southampton and on Great Spruce Head Island, Maine. Dan Chiasson, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for took up
Verb
  • The country’s Home Affairs Minister resigned, and the government lifted the social-media ban the day after.
    Chad de Guzman, Time, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The mass protests started in response to the ban—which was lifted on Tuesday, September 9—but have since broadened into an expression of dissatisfaction with the country's political leadership and alleged corruption.
    Robert Birsel Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Older adults who drank nitrate-rich beetroot juice had fewer mouth bacteria called Prevotella, which is linked to inflammation, and more helpful bacteria like Neisseria.
    Ashley J. DiMella, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • And last season, the pair drank a whole lot of that tasty tea with the help of Corbin.
    Emma Moon, Charlotte Observer, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Home to more than 1,200 stores, the Dubai Mall is so big that complimentary electric buggies ferry shoppers around and free phone batteries can be borrowed in case visitors run out of power on a day trip there.
    Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Nearly every part of the couple's wedding was borrowed or gifted with love.
    Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The decision upheld a previous denial by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission over traffic concerns raised by city officials and in more than 300 public comments.
    Rose Evans September 10, Idaho Statesman, 10 Sep. 2025
  • After new state data showed substantial academic gains, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education members defended a six-figure consulting contract Tuesday that raised questions earlier this year about family connections to the district.
    Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The New York Times reported on a Goldman Sachs study which found that consumers so far have borne only 10-40% of the cost of tariffs – producers and exporters have absorbed the rest.
    George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Glucose is absorbed in the intestine and passes into the blood.
    Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But only a small percentage of people who used The Browser Company’s Arc adopted the program’s special features.
    Jordan Novet, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The pair have since married and adopted twin children.
    Mikelle Street, Them., 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • He was later elevated to the permanent position.
    Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 9 Sep. 2025
  • These are low by historical standards, but elevated from the 3% range from 2022 that was the lowest since the 1970s.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Memories from Louisiana In Plaquemines Parish, seven-year-old Corrine English lost nearly everything when the small fishing town of Buras was swallowed by floodwaters.
    Sarah Alegre, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The wind howled, rattling metal signs and tugging at our clothes as the dust swallowed everything in sight.
    Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Took up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/took%20up. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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