takeaway

American  

[teyk-uh-wey] / ˈteɪk əˌweɪ /

Or take-away

noun

takeaways plural

1. something taken back or away, especially an employee benefit that is eliminated or substantially reduced by the terms of a union contract.

2. conclusions, impressions, or action points resulting from a meeting, discussion, roundtable, or the like.

   The takeaway was that we had to do a lot more work on the proposal before it could be shown to the governing board.

3. Chiefly British.

   1. a takeout restaurant.

      Let's pick something up at the Indian takeaway.

   2. food from a takeout restaurant.

      I get Chinese takeaway at least once a week.

4. Sports.

   1. (in hockey and football) the act of getting the puck or ball away from the team on the offense.

      The problem with most hockey statistics is they are not very consistent in how they determine takeaways and giveaways.

   2. (in golf) a backswing.

      I got him a video entitled “Improving the Takeaway in Your Golf Swing” for his birthday.

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adjective

1. of or relating to what is or can be taken away.

   a list of takeaway proposals presented by management.

2. Chiefly British. takeout.

Usage

What does takeaway mean? Takeaway is popularly used to mean the main thing you’ve learned, will remember, or need to take action on after having been presented with information, such as during a meeting or in a report. Take away is a common phrasal verb that’s used in a lot of contexts, and takeaway as a noun has a lot of different meanings. It’s sometimes spelled take-away. In the U. K., takeaway is the word for what Americans call takeout—food picked up from a restaurant to eat elsewhere, typically at home. It can also refer to the restaurant where you get it. In hockey and American football, a takeaway happens when the puck or ball is somehow taken away from the opposing team. Example: The biggest takeaway from the intern meeting was to not post pictures or videos on social media that could reflect badly on the company.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• takeaways
  plural

Etymology

Origin of takeaway

1930–35 for earlier sense “train car for carrying logs”; 1960–65 takeaway for def. 5; take + away

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

takeaway takeaways

Even a cheese and tomato pizza is 38% water, with takeaway chips containing as much as 51%.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

The takeaway, he added, is straightforward: "Don't do MCB over the eastern Pacific Ocean because it might cause super strong chain reactions from ENSO's disappearance."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 3, 2026

That was the takeaway of a recent Wall Street Journal survey that asked 2,000 people what economic class they felt they belonged to.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

For now, the most striking takeaway is the White House’s 2028 deployment deadline, which is ahead of most company targets.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Someone’s painted a wall lime green, or there’s a bright-red sign above a takeaway shop, or maybe somebody’s picked up a bright-blue piece of sheet metal just by luck.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

The human personality resists easy analysis — that is surely one of Aviv’s takeaways.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

But concerns were raised when trading standards officers in Swansea began to randomly DNA test doner meat from takeaways in the city in 2020 and 2021.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Here are some takeaways from the government’s charges:

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

There are relevant takeaways for the SpaceX IPO, said Mark Thibodeau, one of the authors of that study who is now at Florida International University’s College of Business.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026

People are cooking, eating takeaways in the streets.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Related Words

• outcome
• result
• upshot