take out
Britishverb
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to extract or remove
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to obtain or secure (a licence, patent, etc) from an authority
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to go out with; escort
George is taking Susan out next week
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bridge to bid a different suit from (one's partner) in order to rescue him from a difficult contract
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slang to kill or destroy
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informal to win, esp in sport
he took out the tennis championship
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informal to sap the energy or vitality of
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informal to vent (anger, frustration, etc) on (esp an innocent person)
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informal to make someone forget his anxieties, problems, etc
adjective
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bridge of or designating a conventional informatory bid, asking one's partner to bid another suit
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sold for consumption away from the premises on which it is prepared
a takeout meal
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preparing and selling food for consumption away from the premises
a takeout Indian restaurant
noun
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a shop or restaurant that sells such food
let's go to the Chinese takeout
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a meal bought at such a shop or restaurant
we'll have a takeout tonight to save cooking
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Extract, remove, as in He should take out that splinter : [c. 1300]
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Secure by applying to an authority, as in She took out a real estate license . [Late 1600s]
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Escort on a date, as in He's been taking out a different girl every night of the week . [c. 1600]
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Give vent to; see take it out on .
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Carry away for use elsewhere, as in Can we get some pizza to take out?
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Obtain as an equivalent in different form, as in We took out the money she owed us by having her baby-sit . [Early 1600s]
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Set out, as in Jan and Herb took out for the beach , or The police took out after the suspects . [Mid-1800s]
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Kill, destroy, as in Two snipers took out a whole platoon , or Flying low, the plane took out the enemy bunker in one pass . [1930s]
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See under take out of .
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.
Lower rates can be a good time to take out a loan for a major purchase, like a home or a car, or to refinance existing debt.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
Because of 3-D printing, “when you reduce heat loading on a very fast munition, you take out a ton of cost and complexity without sacrificing performance.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
Around the same time, Jeffrey Ashe, an American sociologist, began studying so-called solidarity groups in El Salvador, where, similar to Grameen Bank’s early efforts, five borrowers collectively take out loans.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
"This led the surgeon to take out the segment of bowel that did not have the cancer in it," said the report.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
I take out the mustard, shake it, lean down, and give it a good long shot right into that baby.
From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
