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

He stood, smiled and said, “My takeaway is that I would enjoy meeting again.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

For businesses, though, the most significant takeaway is whether practical applications—from solving optimization problems to making breakthroughs in areas like materials science and medicine—will be possible with quantum computers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

The abundance of takeaway meals has become one of the movement's more unusual features.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

The takeaway reaches well beyond these two funds.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

We sit down on opposite sides of a glass table piled high with papers, magazines and takeaway menus.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

What are some takeaways for other businesses or CFOs?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Here are three other takeaways from the Dodgers’ 1-5 road trip:

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

The fundamental takeaways are that the same argument which supports index funds and stock-market investing — namely that they have worked in the past — supports investing in momentum.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Before showers or takeaways or anything else, there’s something I have to do.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

• outcome
• result
• upshot