intake
Americannoun
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intakes
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
And to start the month of September, the fund booked a $96 million inflow, the largest one-day intake since late May, according to FactSet data.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
But here’s the thing: That is total fluid intake, not water specifically.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The most cited recommendations for water come from the National Academy of Medicine, which calls for a total daily fluid intake of 3.7 liters for men and 2.7 liters for women.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
During the trial, participants reduced their calorie intake by 11 to 14% without feeling deprived.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
In the back of the bag, I poked a small hole and taped it over the remaining intake.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
At accounting firm Grant Thornton, just 10% of U.K. trainee intakes were apprentices in 2010.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
If it drops an additional 33 feet, water won’t reach its intakes to generate hydroelectric power.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
People who had higher intakes of beta-carotene as a food coloring had a 44% increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, compared with those who had a lower intake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
There should be three more intakes before the end of this year, with a target of training 4,000 recruits every year from now on.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
I taped up eight of the intakes, leaving only one of them active.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
