take it
Idioms-
Understand, as in I take it they won't accept your proposal . [Early 1500s]
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Endure abuse, criticism, harsh treatment, or unpleasantness, as in Tell me what you really think of me—I can take it . [Mid-1800s] This phrase is sometimes modified as take just so much , meaning “endure only up to a point.” For example, I can take just so much of this nonsense before I lose patience . Also see take it on the chin ; take lying down .
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Accept or believe something, as in I'll take it on the doctor's say-so . Also see the subsequent entries beginning with take it .
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.
"Patients would sometimes end up in the emergency department, or they would not want to take it again because they thought, 'This isn't going to work for me,'" she said.
From Science Daily • May 15, 2026
Many foreign nurses had also returned to their home country "because they can't take it anymore".
From BBC • May 12, 2026
It’s currently in the Arabian Sea, but he seems to think it could make “ a little excursion” to topple the government and take it over.
From Salon • May 12, 2026
Kinnan reflects how the program’s mentors gave students the freedom to make their designs their own: “They would say: We see Nike clothes every day; take it into a more high-fashion sphere.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
“I can’t take it anymore! I am guilty! Guilty! I’m haunted each and every night by you! This money is cursed!”
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
