took on

past tense of take on

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 on Ball was joined on the bench in street clothes by Collin Sexton, who sat out with a neck strain when the Hornets took on the Heat in East Group C action at Kasaya Center on Friday night. Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2025 That is certainly true for series star Robert Englund, who took on the role of Freddy Krueger. James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025 In 2003, Matthew Broderick took on the role of Harold Hill for a television movie adaptation. Alexis Mikulski Ruiz, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025 The concept dates back centuries but took on a new life in the twentieth, when Russian theosophist couple Nicholas and Helena Roerich led an expedition in the 1920s to find Shambhala in the Altai Mountains. Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2025 After his passing, Mango’s chief executive officer Roni Ruiz took on the role of chairman of the board. Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 17 Oct. 2025 Sauk County in 2025 took on the responsiblity for and covered some operational tasks that UW-Platteville had previously covered, such as snow-shoveling and lawn-mowing. Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 17 Oct. 2025 For television, Eggar starred opposite Yul Brynner in a 1972 CBS adaptation of The King and I and took on the role of the manipulative Phyllis Dietrichson, famously played by Barbara Stanwyck on the big screen, in a 1973 ABC remake of Double Indemnity. Chris Koseluk, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025 This is how an international football fixture already meaningful on the pitch for Norway took on a geopolitical significance. Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for took on
Verb
  • However, even after the peace proposal, Israeli sports teams have faced opposition and exclusion.
    Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The agency has also faced criticism for aggressive tactics used by ICE agents in executing the president’s immigration policy.
    Andy Rose 19 hr ago, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The report, which was first covered by the Washington Post, looked at the top 25 employers in each state that employed the most SNAP and Medicaid recipients.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Lillig is no longer employed in either of those roles.
    Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Namely, going after the drug traffickers themselves by raiding Mexican cartel trap houses and robbing their mules, using equipment borrowed from their parents including night-vision goggles and beanbag shotguns.
    Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 11 Nov. 2025
  • The average new-car customer borrowed $42,647 in the third quarter, at an annual interest rate of 7%, for an average monthly payment of $754.
    Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Shouts for it will be met by angry fingers jutted towards the various gaffes played ad nauseam on Sky Sports’ weekly Ref Watch, or the mandatory pause before the emotional unleashing as VAR mulls over whether a goal is a goal or just a hoax.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Uncensored, that Fergie met the man, Steve Wyatt, a millionaire entrepreneur from Texas, at the Houston Grand Opera’s British Opera Festival in 1989 and started an extramarital relationship with him soon after.
    Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Reuters reported Thursday that Comcast had hired bankers from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to sort through a potential bid for some of WBD’s assets.
    Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Investigations found the voicemails of public figures were hacked by journalists and private investigators hired by publications who worked on the assumption that few people changed the default voicemail access code their handset came with.
    Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Arlene adopted Aileen in 1991 Arlene and her husband, Robert, adopted Aileen in 1991, after she was arrested and incarcerated.
    Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025
  • It was officially adopted with a two-thirds vote requirement in 1917.
    George Petras, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Most striking are some of the hazards that early photographers encountered—in the nineteenth century, their work required handling cyanide fixatives and flash powder that was explosive enough to shatter windows and blow up houses.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
  • But the drive reportedly went awry as the group encountered a crowd who were surrounding federal agents and their vehicles.
    Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Auburn's pipeline is filled with plenty of talent waiting to be recruited, and the school has a substantial amount of resources to compete in the modern transfer portal, as well.
    Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
  • He was recruited to join the agency over the summer after meeting with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Took on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/took%20on. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.

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