intake

American  

[in-tayk] / ˈɪnˌteɪk /

noun

• intakes
  plural

1. the place or opening at which a fluid is taken into a channel, pipe, etc.

2. an act or instance of taking in.

   an intake of oxygen.

3. something that is taken in.

4. a quantity taken in.

   an intake of 50 gallons a minute.

5. a narrowing; contraction.

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intake British  

/ ˈɪnˌteɪk /

noun

1. a thing or a quantity taken in

   an intake of students

2. the act of taking in

3. the opening through which fluid enters a duct or channel, esp the air inlet of a jet engine

4. a ventilation shaft in a mine

5. a contraction or narrowing

   an intake in a garment

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• intakes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of intake

First recorded in 1515–25; noun use of verb phrase take in

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intake intakes

Their proposal is not to abandon existing advice, but to expand it by recognizing that potassium intake is another major factor in blood pressure regulation.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

Vantara's intake accelerated in 2019, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tourism stalled and zoos struggled.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

She advises increasing fibre intake gradually to avoid bloating, noting that people with IBS may find it harder to tolerate.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

The order miss can partly be explained by soft September Class 8 truck demand and Volvo’s decision to restrict orders to keep production and order intake closely aligned amid ongoing inflationary pressures, Kempf adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

He heard his friend sit up, heard the intake of breath.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

“Although we do not know exactly what levels of Neu5Gc trigger an immune response, our data suggest that higher intakes of meat-derived Neu5Gc are associated with a progressively higher risk of T2D.”

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

At accounting firm Grant Thornton, just 10% of U.K. trainee intakes were apprentices in 2010.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

A 2025 case-control study from Vietnam found what researchers described as a U-shaped relationship between B12 intake and cancer risk, with both lower and higher intakes associated with increased risk.

From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026

In the first two months of this year, 284 dogs were euthanized at city shelters, a 39% increase compared with January and February 2025 despite a 6% decrease in dog intakes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

And yet, when finally she stopped, she merely stopped, without the painful, knifelike intakes of breath that usually follow a violent outburst-inburst.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger

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