take-up
noun
the act of taking up.
take-up
American
[teyk-uhp]
/ ˈteɪkˌʌp /
noun
take-ups
plural
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the act of taking up.
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Machinery.
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any of various devices for taking up slack, winding in, or compensating for the looseness of parts due to wear.
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the contraction of fabric resulting from the wet operations in the finishing process, especially fulling.
take up
British
verb
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to adopt the study, practice, or activity of
to take up gardening
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to occupy and break in (uncultivated land)
he took up some hundreds of acres in the back country
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to shorten (a garment or part of a garment)
she took all her skirts up three inches
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to pay off (a note, mortgage, etc)
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to agree to or accept (an invitation, etc)
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to pursue further or resume (something)
he took up French where he left off
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to absorb (a liquid)
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to adopt as a protégé; act as a patron to
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to occupy or fill (space or time)
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to interrupt, esp in order to contradict or criticize
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to argue or dispute with (someone)
can I take you up on two points in your talk?
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to accept what is offered by (someone)
let me take you up on your invitation
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to discuss with (someone); refer to
to take up a fault with the manufacturers
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(intr) to begin to keep company or associate with
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noun
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the claiming or acceptance of something, esp a state benefit, that is due or available
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( as modifier )
take-up rate
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machinery the distance through which a part must move to absorb the free play in a system
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(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
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Raise, lift, as in We have to take up the old carpet and sand the floor . [c. 1300]
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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]
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Station oneself, settle in, as in We took up our positions at the front . [Mid-1500s]
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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.
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Develop an interest in, begin an activity, as in Jim took up gardening . [Mid-1400s] Also see go into , def. 3.
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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]
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Begin again, resume, as in I'll take up the story where you left off . [Mid-1600s]
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Deal with, as in Let's take up these questions one at a time . [c. 1500]
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Absorb, as in These large trees are taking up all the water in the soil . [Late 1600s]
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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.
See Examples For:
The UBS analysts tell clients in a note to expect a solid trading update at the investor day, with the consumer business supported by increased take-up of high-speed plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
“Widespread take-up of the considerably cheaper, and more flexible, open-source models globally would also be concerning.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
Novo itself said it achieved 200,000 weekly prescriptions in the U.S. by mid-April, calling it the fastest take-up ever in the U.S. for GLP-1 drugs of any kind.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
"An average primary school with 50% take-up will receive nearly £30,000 a year – around 18 times more than the previous National School Breakfast Programme," a spokesperson said.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
Fadi popped in a new roll of film and threaded it into the take-up spool.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Without the ability to take up creatine, the cells survived less effectively, became less active, and were far less capable of preparing T cells to recognize and attack tumors.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
The club says the development will benefit the community and encourage children to take up sport, but the Friends of Burlish Meadow say it will damage the local ecosystem.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
On the one hand, we get what he’s saying: He won the nomination, so a candidate in his vein should take up the mantle.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
In the U.S., employees can take up to nine weeks of leave annually to care for immediate family members who are critically or terminally ill.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Some Chicagoans who had found slavery repugnant now shuddered at the prospect of free blacks surging in to take up residence in their city.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Vaccine take-ups have quadrupled since the pass was made mandatory last Thursday.
From Reuters ● Oct. 27, 2021
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.
