take pity on

Idioms  

1. Also, have pity on. Show compassion or mercy to, as in Take pity on the cook and eat that last piece of cake, or, as Miles Coverdale's 1535 translation of the Bible has it (Job 19:21), “Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye, my friends.” This idiom may be used half-jokingly, as in the first example, or seriously. [Late 1200s]

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Example Sentences

My role was to kick Elvis in the shin so a girl he liked would take pity on him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Poe Ratcho: A play-on-words for poveraccio, meaning “poor guy” or someone you take pity on.

From The Verge • Mar. 5, 2022

At the end, though, they take pity on us, signing off with a glistening rainbow over the world’s tallest waterfall.

From New York Times • Aug. 15, 2019

Forst suggested the Dodgers find a way for Zaidi to take pity on them.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2018

Sensei seemed to take pity on her and called on someone else.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Related Words

• feel for
• forgive
• pardon