took up; taken up; taking up; takes up
2
a
: to begin to occupy (land)
b
: to gather from a number of sources
took up a collection
3
a
: to accept or adopt for the purpose of assisting
b
: to accept or adopt as one's own
took up the life of a farmer
c
: to absorb or incorporate into itself
plants taking up nutrients
4
a
: to enter upon (something, such as a business, hobby, or subject of study)
take up skiing
took up the trumpet
b
: to proceed to consider or deal with
take up one problem at a time
5
: to establish oneself in
took up residence in town
6
: to occupy entirely or exclusively : fill up
the meeting was taken up with old business
7
: to make tighter or shorter
take up the slack
8
: to respond favorably to (a person offering a bet, challenge, proposal, etc.)
took me up on it
9
: to begin again or take over from another
we must take the good work up again
1
: to make a beginning where another has left off
2
: to become shortened : draw together : shrink
Synonyms
Examples of take-up in a Sentence
Verb
please take up the blanket so I can look underneath it
the soil was so dry that the plant seemed to take up the much-needed water instantly
Recent Examples on the Web
Zak Doffman, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
The lack of diversity in the people represented by these images and the focus on cycling as leisure rather than a form of transport could be a significant factor impacting the take-up of cycling, claims Possible.
—Carlton Reid, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
Unlike Amazon Prime’s two-day delivery standard, Haul orders will take up to two weeks to arrive since items ship directly from manufacturers.
—Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 13 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for take-up 
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Noun
Updated on November 3 with new reports into passkey adoption as alternative to MFA, with new updates to widen take-up further, resolving key challenges.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
The lack of diversity in the people represented by these images and the focus on cycling as leisure rather than a form of transport could be a significant factor impacting the take-up of cycling, claims Possible.
—Carlton Reid, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Verb
The bout pits one of the greatest (and most intimidating) fighters of all time against a social media star who only took up boxing in recent years.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
Unlike Amazon Prime’s two-day delivery standard, Haul orders will take up to two weeks to arrive since items ship directly from manufacturers.
—Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 13 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for take-up
Dictionary Entries Near take-up
Cite this Entry
“Take-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take-up. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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