TAKE UP

Pronunciation (US):

• TAKE UP (verb)
  The verb TAKE UP has 13 senses:

1. pursue or resume
2. adopt
3. turn one's interest to
4. take up time or space
5. begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job
6. take up and practice as one's own
7. occupy or take on
8. take up a liquid or a gas either by adsorption or by absorption
9. take out or up with or as if with a scoop
10. accept
11. take in, also metaphorically
12. take up as if with a sponge
13. return to a previous location or condition

  Familiarity information: TAKE UP used as a verb is familiar.

• TAKE UP (verb)

Meaning:

Pursue or resume

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

take up a matter for consideration

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

embark; enter (set out on (an enterprise or subject of study))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Adopt

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

fasten on; hook on; seize on; take up; latch on

Context example:

take up new ideas

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

adopt; embrace; espouse; sweep up (take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Meaning:

Turn one's interest to

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

He took up herpetology at the age of fifty

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

turn (channel one's attention, interest, thought, or attention toward or away from something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Meaning:

Take up time or space

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

take up the slack

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

fill; occupy (occupy the whole of)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Meaning:

Begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

take up; start

Context examples:

Take up a position / start a new job

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "take up"):

take office (assume an office, duty, or title)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Take up and practice as one's own

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

adopt; borrow; take up; take over

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

accept; have; take (receive willingly something given or offered)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Meaning:

Occupy or take on

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

assume; take up; strike; take

Context examples:

He assumes the lotus position / She took her seat on the stage / We took our seats in the orchestra / She took up her position behind the tree / strike a pose

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Take up a liquid or a gas either by adsorption or by absorption

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

sorb; take up

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "take up"):

absorb (become imbued)

adsorb (accumulate (liquids or gases) on the surface)

chemisorb (take up a substance by chemisorption)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Meaning:

Take out or up with or as if with a scoop

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

lift out; scoop; scoop up; scoop out; take up

Context example:

scoop the sugar out of the container

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "take up"):

dip (scoop up by plunging one's hand or a ladle below the surface)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Meaning:

Accept

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

take up; take in

Context example:

The cloth takes up the liquid

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

have; receive (get something; come into possession of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "take up"):

fuel (take in fuel, as of a ship)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Meaning:

Take in, also metaphorically

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

suck up; sop up; soak up; imbibe; suck; absorb; take up; take in; draw

Context examples:

The sponge absorbs water well / She drew strength from the minister's words

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "take up"):

mop; mop up; wipe up (to wash or wipe with or as if with a mop)

blot (dry (ink) with blotting paper)

sponge up (absorb as if with a sponge)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Meaning:

Take up as if with a sponge

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

suck in; sop up; take up; take in

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

consume; have; ingest; take; take in (serve oneself to, or consume regularly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Return to a previous location or condition

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

resume; take up

Context example:

The painting resumed its old condition when we restored it

Hypernyms (to "take up" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something