intake
Americannoun
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the place or opening at which a fluid is taken into a channel, pipe, etc.
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an act or instance of taking in.
an intake of oxygen.
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something that is taken in.
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a quantity taken in.
an intake of 50 gallons a minute.
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a narrowing; contraction.
noun
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a thing or a quantity taken in
an intake of students
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the act of taking in
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the opening through which fluid enters a duct or channel, esp the air inlet of a jet engine
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a ventilation shaft in a mine
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a contraction or narrowing
an intake in a garment
Etymology
Origin of intake
First recorded in 1515–25; noun use of verb phrase take in
Explanation
The act of consuming food can be called intake. A veterinarian might advise you to limit your dog's intake of pizza crusts, for example. While the process of eating can be called your intake, unless you're a militant dieter who weighs every ounce of food you consume, you're most likely to hear the word intake in a hospital or doctor's office. Caregivers might be concerned about a patient's intake of calories if he's very sick, or a dietitian might recommend an elderly woman increase her intake of calcium.
Vocabulary lists containing intake
"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 2
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Articles on Nutrition
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Intake was measured by servings rather than tracking individual foods.
From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026
If you are a family with children, call the Family Shelter Intake Line at 206-245-1026 to be connected with a shelter bed and a ride to get there.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2022
The council said 197 Albanian children processed at the Home Office's Kent Intake Unit came into its care between 1 January and 31 October.
From BBC • Dec. 3, 2022
Chou was arrested Sunday and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Orange County Intake Release Center, jail records show.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2022
Clara's mother, like Saxon's, had crossed the Plains with ox-teams, and, like Saxon's, had wintered in Salt Intake City—in fact, had, with her sisters, opened the first Gentile school in that Mormon stronghold.
From The Valley of the Moon by London, Jack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
