take-up
noun
the act of taking up.
take-up
American
[teyk-uhp]
/ ˈteɪkˌʌp /
noun
take-ups
plural
-
the act of taking up.
-
Machinery.
-
any of various devices for taking up slack, winding in, or compensating for the looseness of parts due to wear.
-
the contraction of fabric resulting from the wet operations in the finishing process, especially fulling.
take up
British
verb
-
to adopt the study, practice, or activity of
to take up gardening
-
to occupy and break in (uncultivated land)
he took up some hundreds of acres in the back country
-
to shorten (a garment or part of a garment)
she took all her skirts up three inches
-
to pay off (a note, mortgage, etc)
-
to agree to or accept (an invitation, etc)
-
to pursue further or resume (something)
he took up French where he left off
-
to absorb (a liquid)
-
to adopt as a protégé; act as a patron to
-
to occupy or fill (space or time)
-
to interrupt, esp in order to contradict or criticize
-
-
to argue or dispute with (someone)
can I take you up on two points in your talk?
-
to accept what is offered by (someone)
let me take you up on your invitation
-
-
-
to discuss with (someone); refer to
to take up a fault with the manufacturers
-
(intr) to begin to keep company or associate with
-
noun
-
-
the claiming or acceptance of something, esp a state benefit, that is due or available
-
( as modifier )
take-up rate
-
-
machinery the distance through which a part must move to absorb the free play in a system
-
(modifier) denoting the part of a mechanism on which film, tape, or wire is wound up
a take-up spool on a tape recorder
take up
Idioms
-
Raise, lift, as in We have to take up the old carpet and sand the floor . [c. 1300]
-
Reduce in size, shorten, tighten, as in I have to take up the hem of this coat , or You have to take up the slack in that reel or you'll never land a fish . [c. 1800]
-
Station oneself, settle in, as in We took up our positions at the front . [Mid-1500s]
-
Accept an option, bet, or challenge, as in No one wanted to take up that bet . This usage is often expanded to take someone up on , as in You're offering to clean the barn? I'll take you up on that . Take up dates from about 1700, the variant from the early 1900s.
-
Develop an interest in, begin an activity, as in Jim took up gardening . [Mid-1400s] Also see go into , def. 3.
-
Use up or occupy entirely, as in The extra duties took up most of my time , or This desk takes up too much space in the office , or How much room will your car take up? [c. 1600]
-
Begin again, resume, as in I'll take up the story where you left off . [Mid-1600s]
-
Deal with, as in Let's take up these questions one at a time . [c. 1500]
-
Absorb, as in These large trees are taking up all the water in the soil . [Late 1600s]
-
Support, adopt as a protegé, as in She's always taking up one or another young singer . [Late 1300s] Also see the subsequent entries beginning with take up .
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of take-up
First recorded in 1815–25; noun use of verb phrase take up
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.
Installing and commissioning can take up to 10 months, according to a report from SemiAnalysis.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
They devoted most of their appeal to arguing that the court should take up the case because judges are divided on when propensity evidence should be excluded.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026
She commonly sees kitchens where infrequently used gadgets take up "prime real estate"; things which could be stored in drawers, cupboards or even the loft, if it's something really gathering dust.
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026
“I personally don’t believe there’ll be nothing for humans to do, so we’re just going to sit around and take up leisure time,” Raimondo said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
The foragers could either run away, abandoning their hunting grounds to field and pasture, or take up the ploughshare themselves.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
