take after

verb

took after; taken after; taking after; takes after

transitive verb

: to resemble (someone) in features, build, character, or disposition
a daughter who takes after her mother
"That's Tulliver's son," said the publican to a grocer standing on the adjacent door-step. "Ah!" said the grocer, "I thought I knew his features. He takes after his mother's family."George Eliot
"His father was lazy but his mother hasn't a lazy bone in her body, and Peter takes after her."Lucy Maud Montgomery

Examples of take after in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In another image, taken after the fight broke out, two young men appear to hold back a third one, who is facing the camera, staring blankly ahead. Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2024 This means take after take of me pulling Isaac on the sled, which is attached on runners to the tunnel floor. Kristian Nairn, WIRED, 24 Sep. 2024 In 2021, Disneyland updated Jessica Rabbit’s look in the Anaheim park from her red dress to a trench coat, allegedly more in line with her new career as a private investigator, taking after Bob Hoskins’ Eddie Valliant in the project. Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Nov. 2024 Fueled by a combination of grief, curiosity, and determination, Billy did indeed take after his birth mother to create something both fantastical and very real in terms of its consequences. Caroline Framke, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for take after 

Word History

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of take after was in 1627

Dictionary Entries Near take after

Cite this Entry

“Take after.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20after. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

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