n. A stake or pole projecting from, or set up before, an alehouse, as a sign; an alepole. At the end was commonly suspended a garland, a bunch of leaves, or a “bush.” [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To overtake. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Betook p. p. Betaken p. pr. & vb. n. Betaking. ] [ Pref. be- + take. ] 1. To take or seize. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To have recourse to; to apply; to resort; to go; -- with a reflexive pronoun. [ 1913 Webster ]

They betook themselves to treaty and submission. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rest, in imitation, to like arms
Betook them. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whither shall I betake me, where subsist? Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To commend or intrust to; to commit to. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Betake, Betaught. ] To commend; to commit. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A stake or post set in the ground, for guests at a wedding to dance round. [ 1913 Webster ]

Divide the broad bridecake
Round about the bridestake. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To entertain. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Finance) the purchase of a controlling interest in a publicly-traded company against the wishes of the current management. A person who is the main principal in performing such a buyout is called a corporate raider.
Syn. -- hostile buyout. [ PJC ]

n. 1. The place where water, air, or other substance is taken into a pipe, conduit, or machine; -- opposed to outlet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. the beginning of a contraction or narrowing in a tube or cylinder. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The quantity taken in; as, the intake of air. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & obs. p. p. Mistook p. p. Mistaken p. pr. & vb. n. Mistaking. ] [ Pref. mis- + take: cf. Icel. mistaka. ] 1. To take or choose wrongly. [ Obs. or R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To take in a wrong sense; to misunderstand misapprehend, or misconceive; as, to mistake a remark; to mistake one's meaning. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

My father's purposes have been mistook. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To substitute in thought or perception; as, to mistake one person for another. [ 1913 Webster ]

A man may mistake the love of virtue for the practice of it. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To have a wrong idea of in respect of character, qualities, etc.; to misjudge. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mistake me not so much,
To think my poverty is treacherous. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To err in knowledge, perception, opinion, or judgment; to commit an unintentional error. [ 1913 Webster ]

Servants mistake, and sometimes occasion misunderstanding among friends. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. An apprehending wrongly; a misconception; a misunderstanding; a fault in opinion or judgment; an unintentional error of conduct. [ 1913 Webster ]

Infallibility is an absolute security of the understanding from all possibility of mistake. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) Misconception, error, which when non-negligent may be ground for rescinding a contract, or for refusing to perform it. [ 1913 Webster ]

No mistake, surely; without fail; as, it will happen at the appointed time, and no mistake. [ Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Blunder; error; bull. See Blunder. [ 1913 Webster ]

p.a. 1. Being in error; judging wrongly; having a wrong opinion or a misconception; as, a mistaken man; he is mistaken. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Erroneous; wrong; as, a mistaken notion. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By mistake. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Erroneousness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who mistakes. [ 1913 Webster ]

Well meaning ignorance of some mistakers. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Off + take. ] 1. Act of taking off; specif., the taking off or purchase of goods. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. Something taken off; a deduction. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. A channel for taking away air or water; also, the point of beginning of such a channel; a take-off. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

prep. Except. [ Obs. ] R. of Brunne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A portion of a recorded performance which is eliminated in the editing process and is not included in the final commercial presentation. The recording may be audio or visual or both, but is usually of a film or television performance. Outtakes often include mistakes or lower quality performances, and sometimes blunders. The latter type are occasionally presented separately to the public for amusement. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

p. p. or prep. Excepted; save. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Overtook p. p. Overtaken p. pr. & vb. n. Overtaking. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To come up with in a race, pursuit, progress, or motion; also, to catch up with and move ahead of. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

Follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say . . . Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good. Gen. xliv. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

He had him overtaken in his flight. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: To surpass in production, achievement, etc.; as, although out of school for half a year due to illness, the student returned and overtook all the others to finish as valedictorian. [ PJC ]

3. To come upon from behind; to discover; to surprise; to capture; to overcome. [ 1913 Webster ]

If a man be overtaken in a fault. Gal. vi. 1 [ 1913 Webster ]

I shall see
The winged vengeance overtake such children. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Hence, figuratively, in the past participle (overtaken), drunken. [ Obs. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To frustrate or render impossible or irrelevant; -- used mostly of plans, and commonly in the phrase overtaken by events; as, their careful marketing plan was overtaken by events. [ PJC ]

n. One who takes pains; one careful and faithful in all work. Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. Partook p. p. Partaken p. pr. & vb. n. Partaking. ] [ Part + take. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To take a part, portion, lot, or share, in common with others; to have a share or part; to participate; to share; as, to partake of a feast with others. “Brutes partake in this faculty.” Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

When I against myself with thee partake. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To have something of the properties, character, or office; -- usually followed by of. [ 1913 Webster ]

The attorney of the Duchy of Lancaster partakes partly of a judge, and partly of an attorney-general. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To partake of; to have a part or share in; to share. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let every one partake the general joy. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To admit to a share; to cause to participate; to give a part to. [ Obs. ] Spencer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To distribute; to communicate. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who partakes; a sharer; a participator. [ 1913 Webster ]

Partakers of their spiritual things. Rom. xv. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wish me partaker in my happiness. Shark. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An accomplice; an associate; a partner. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Partakers wish them in the blood of the prophets. Matt. xxiii. 30. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To take or receive again. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To take from a captor; to recapture; as, to retake a ship or prisoners. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who takes again what has been taken; a recaptor. Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. staca, from the root of E. stick; akin to OFries. & LG. stake, D. staak, Sw. stake, Dan. stage. See Stick, v. t., and cf. Estacade, Stockade. ] 1. A piece of wood, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a support or stay; as, a stake to support vines, fences, hedges, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

A sharpened stake strong Dryas found. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A stick inserted upright in a loop, eye, or mortise, at the side or end of a cart, a flat car, or the like, to prevent goods from falling off. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The piece of timber to which a martyr was affixed to be burned; hence, martyrdom by fire. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A small anvil usually furnished with a tang to enter a hole in a bench top, -- used by tinsmiths, blacksmiths, etc., for light work, punching upon, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. That which is laid down as a wager; that which is staked or hazarded; a pledge. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Mormon Ch.) A territorial division; -- called also stake of Zion.

Every city, or “stake, ” including a chief town and surrounding towns, has its president, with two counselors; and this president has a high council of chosen men. Schaff-Herzog Encyc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

At stake, in danger; hazarded; pledged. “I see my reputation is at stake.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Staked p. pr. & vb. n. Staking. ] 1. To fasten, support, or defend with stakes; as, to stake vines or plants. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To mark the limits of by stakes; -- with out; as, to stake out land; to stake out a new road. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To put at hazard upon the issue of competition, or upon a future contingency; to wager; to pledge. [ 1913 Webster ]

I'll stake yon lamb, that near the fountain plays. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To pierce or wound with a stake. Spectator. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The common American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus); -- so called because one of its notes resembles the sound made in driving a stake into the mud. Called also meadow hen, and Indian hen. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Rope Making) A horizontal bar on a stake, used for supporting the yarns which are kept apart by pins in the bar. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The holder of a stake; one with whom the bets are deposited when a wager is laid. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A winning of all the stakes or prizes. Heylin. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A complete removal or carrying away; a clean sweep. [ Obs. ] Bp. Hacket. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A winning of all the stakes or prizes; a sweepstake. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. sing. or pl. The whole money or other things staked at a horse race, a given sum being put up for each horse, all of which goes to the winner, or is divided among several, as may be previously agreed. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A race for all the sums staked or prizes offered. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Sweepstake. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Altogether; indiscriminately. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

obs. p. p. of Take. Taken. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Took p. p. Taken p. pr. & vb. n. Taking. ] [ Icel. taka; akin to Sw. taga, Dan. tage, Goth. tēkan to touch; of uncertain origin. ] 1. In an active sense; To lay hold of; to seize with the hands, or otherwise; to grasp; to get into one's hold or possession; to procure; to seize and carry away; to convey. Hence, specifically: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) To obtain possession of by force or artifice; to get the custody or control of; to reduce into subjection to one's power or will; to capture; to seize; to make prisoner; as, to take an army, a city, or a ship; also, to come upon or befall; to fasten on; to attack; to seize; -- said of a disease, misfortune, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

This man was taken of the Jews. Acts xxiii. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men in their loose, unguarded hours they take;
Not that themselves are wise, but others weak. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

They that come abroad after these showers are commonly taken with sickness. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

There he blasts the tree and takes the cattle
And makes milch kine yield blood. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) To gain or secure the interest or affection of; to captivate; to engage; to interest; to charm. [ 1913 Webster ]

Neither let her take thee with her eyelids. Prov. vi. 25. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cleombroutus was so taken with this prospect, that he had no patience. Wake. [ 1913 Webster ]

I know not why, but there was a something in those half-seen features, -- a charm in the very shadow that hung over their imagined beauty, -- which took me more than all the outshining loveliness of her companions. Moore. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) To make selection of; to choose; also, to turn to; to have recourse to; as, to take the road to the right. [ 1913 Webster ]

Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 1 Sam. xiv. 42. [ 1913 Webster ]

The violence of storming is the course which God is forced to take for the destroying . . . of sinners. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

(d) To employ; to use; to occupy; hence, to demand; to require; as, it takes so much cloth to make a coat; it takes five hours to get to Boston from New York by car. [ 1913 Webster ]

This man always takes time . . . before he passes his judgments. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

(e) To form a likeness of; to copy; to delineate; to picture; as, to take a picture of a person. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beauty alone could beauty take so right. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

(f) To draw; to deduce; to derive. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The firm belief of a future judgment is the most forcible motive to a good life, because taken from this consideration of the most lasting happiness and misery. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

(g) To assume; to adopt; to acquire, as shape; to permit to one's self; to indulge or engage in; to yield to; to have or feel; to enjoy or experience, as rest, revenge, delight, shame; to form and adopt, as a resolution; -- used in general senses, limited by a following complement, in many idiomatic phrases; as, to take a resolution; I take the liberty to say. [ 1913 Webster ]

(h) To lead; to conduct; as, to take a child to church. [ 1913 Webster ]

(i) To carry; to convey; to deliver to another; to hand over; as, he took the book to the bindery; he took a dictionary with him. [ 1913 Webster ]

He took me certain gold, I wot it well. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

(k) To remove; to withdraw; to deduct; -- with from; as, to take the breath from one; to take two from four. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In a somewhat passive sense, to receive; to bear; to endure; to acknowledge; to accept. Specifically: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) To accept, as something offered; to receive; not to refuse or reject; to admit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer. Num. xxxv. 31. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore. 1 Tim. v. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) To receive as something to be eaten or drunk; to partake of; to swallow; as, to take food or wine. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) Not to refuse or balk at; to undertake readily; to clear; as, to take a hedge or fence. [ 1913 Webster ]

(d) To bear without ill humor or resentment; to submit to; to tolerate; to endure; as, to take a joke; he will take an affront from no man. [ 1913 Webster ]

(e) To admit, as, something presented to the mind; not to dispute; to allow; to accept; to receive in thought; to entertain in opinion; to understand; to interpret; to regard or look upon; to consider; to suppose; as, to take a thing for granted; this I take to be man's motive; to take men for spies. [ 1913 Webster ]

You take me right. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Charity, taken in its largest extent, is nothing else but the science love of God and our neighbor. Wake. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ He ] took that for virtue and affection which was nothing but vice in a disguise. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

You'd doubt his sex, and take him for a girl. Tate. [ 1913 Webster ]

(f) To accept the word or offer of; to receive and accept; to bear; to submit to; to enter into agreement with; -- used in general senses; as, to take a form or shape. [ 1913 Webster ]

I take thee at thy word. Rowe. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yet thy moist clay is pliant to command; . . .
Not take the mold. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make a picture, photograph, or the like, of; as, to take a group or a scene. [ Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

4. To give or deliver (a blow to); to strike; hit; as, he took me in the face; he took me a blow on the head. [ Obs. exc. Slang or Dial. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

To be taken aback,
To take advantage of,
To take air, etc. See under Aback, Advantage, etc. --
To take aim, to direct the eye or weapon; to aim. --
To take along, to carry, lead, or convey. --
To take arms, to commence war or hostilities. --
To take away, to carry off; to remove; to cause deprivation of; to do away with; as, a bill for taking away the votes of bishops. “By your own law, I take your life away.” Dryden. --
To take breath, to stop, as from labor, in order to breathe or rest; to recruit or refresh one's self. --
To take care, to exercise care or vigilance; to be solicitous. “Doth God take care for oxen?” 1 Cor. ix. 9. --
To take care of, to have the charge or care of; to care for; to superintend or oversee. --
To take down. (a) To reduce; to bring down, as from a high, or higher, place; as, to take down a book; hence, to bring lower; to depress; to abase or humble; as, to take down pride, or the proud. “I never attempted to be impudent yet, that I was not taken down.” Goldsmith. (b) To swallow; as, to take down a potion. (c) To pull down; to pull to pieces; as, to take down a house or a scaffold. (d) To record; to write down; as, to take down a man's words at the time he utters them. --
To take effect,
To take fire. See under Effect, and Fire. --
To take ground to the right or
To take ground to the left (Mil.), to extend the line to the right or left; to move, as troops, to the right or left. --
To take heart, to gain confidence or courage; to be encouraged. --
To take heed, to be careful or cautious. “Take heed what doom against yourself you give.” Dryden. --
To take heed to, to attend with care, as, take heed to thy ways. --
To take hold of, to seize; to fix on. --
To take horse, to mount and ride a horse. --
To take in. (a) To inclose; to fence. (b) To encompass or embrace; to comprise; to comprehend. (c) To draw into a smaller compass; to contract; to brail or furl; as, to take in sail. (d) To cheat; to circumvent; to gull; to deceive. [ Colloq. ] (e) To admit; to receive; as, a leaky vessel will take in water. (f) To win by conquest. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] For now Troy's broad-wayed town
He shall take in. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ] (g) To receive into the mind or understanding. “Some bright genius can take in a long train of propositions.” I. Watts. (h) To receive regularly, as a periodical work or newspaper; to take. [ Eng. ] --
To take in hand. See under Hand. --
To take in vain, to employ or utter as in an oath. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” Ex. xx. 7. --
To take issue. See under Issue. --
To take leave. See Leave, n., 2. --
To take a newspaper,
magazine, or the like, to receive it regularly, as on paying the price of subscription. --
To take notice, to observe, or to observe with particular attention. --
To take notice of. See under Notice. --
To take oath, to swear with solemnity, or in a judicial manner. --
To take on, to assume; to take upon one's self; as, to take on a character or responsibility. --
To take one's own course, to act one's pleasure; to pursue the measures of one's own choice. --
To take order for. See under Order. --
To take order with, to check; to hinder; to repress. [ Obs. ] Bacon. --
To take orders. (a) To receive directions or commands. (b) (Eccl.) To enter some grade of the ministry. See Order, n., 10. --
To take out. (a) To remove from within a place; to separate; to deduct. (b) To draw out; to remove; to clear or cleanse from; as, to take out a stain or spot from cloth. (c) To produce for one's self; as, to take out a patent. (d) To put an end to; as, to take the conceit out of a man. (e) To escort; as, to take out to dinner. --
To take over, to undertake; to take the management of. [ Eng. ] Cross (Life of G. Eliot). --
To take part, to share; as, they take part in our rejoicing. --
To take part with, to unite with; to join with. --
To take place,
root,
sides,
stock, etc. See under Place, Root, Side, etc. --
To take the air. (a) (Falconry) To seek to escape by trying to rise higher than the falcon; -- said of a bird. (b) See under Air. --
To take the field. (Mil.) See under Field. --
To take thought, to be concerned or anxious; to be solicitous. Matt. vi. 25, 27. --
To take to heart. See under Heart. --
To take to task, to reprove; to censure. --
To take up. (a) To lift; to raise. Hood. (b) To buy or borrow; as, to take up goods to a large amount; to take up money at the bank. (c) To begin; as, to take up a lamentation. Ezek. xix. 1. (d) To gather together; to bind up; to fasten or to replace; as, to take up raveled stitches; specifically (Surg.), to fasten with a ligature. (e) To engross; to employ; to occupy or fill; as, to take up the time; to take up a great deal of room. (f) To take permanently. “Arnobius asserts that men of the finest parts . . . took up their rest in the Christian religion.” Addison. (g) To seize; to catch; to arrest; as, to take up a thief; to take up vagabonds. (h) To admit; to believe; to receive. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] The ancients took up experiments upon credit. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ] (i) To answer by reproof; to reprimand; to berate. [ 1913 Webster ] One of his relations took him up roundly. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ] (k) To begin where another left off; to keep up in continuous succession; to take up (a topic, an activity). [ 1913 Webster ] Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ] [ 1913 Webster ] (l) To assume; to adopt as one's own; to carry on or manage; as, to take up the quarrels of our neighbors; to take up current opinions. “They take up our old trade of conquering.” Dryden. (m) To comprise; to include. “The noble poem of Palemon and Arcite . . . takes up seven years.” Dryden. (n) To receive, accept, or adopt for the purpose of assisting; to espouse the cause of; to favor. Ps. xxvii. 10. (o) To collect; to exact, as a tax; to levy; as, to take up a contribution. “Take up commodities upon our bills.” Shak. (p) To pay and receive; as, to take up a note at the bank. (q) (Mach.) To remove, as by an adjustment of parts; as, to take up lost motion, as in a bearing; also, to make tight, as by winding, or drawing; as, to take up slack thread in sewing. (r) To make up; to compose; to settle; as, to take up a quarrel. [ Obs. ] Shak. -- (s) To accept from someone, as a wager or a challenge; as, J. took M. up on his challenge. --
To take up arms. Same as To take arms, above. --
To take upon one's self. (a) To assume; to undertake; as, he takes upon himself to assert that the fact is capable of proof. (b) To appropriate to one's self; to allow to be imputed to, or inflicted upon, one's self; as, to take upon one's self a punishment. --
To take up the gauntlet. See under Gauntlet. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To take hold; to fix upon anything; to have the natural or intended effect; to accomplish a purpose; as, he was inoculated, but the virus did not take. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

When flame taketh and openeth, it giveth a noise. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

In impressions from mind to mind, the impression taketh, but is overcome . . . before it work any manifest effect. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To please; to gain reception; to succeed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Each wit may praise it for his own dear sake,
And hint he writ it, if the thing should take. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To move or direct the course; to resort; to betake one's self; to proceed; to go; -- usually with to; as, the fox, being hard pressed, took to the hedge. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To admit of being pictured, as in a photograph; as, his face does not take well. [ 1913 Webster ]

To take after. (a) To learn to follow; to copy; to imitate; as, he takes after a good pattern. (b) To resemble; as, the son takes after his father. --
To take in with, to resort to. [ Obs. ] Bacon. --
To take on, to be violently affected; to express grief or pain in a violent manner. --
To take to. (a) To apply one's self to; to be fond of; to become attached to; as, to take to evil practices. “If he does but take to you, . . . you will contract a great friendship with him.” Walpole. (b) To resort to; to betake one's self to. “Men of learning, who take to business, discharge it generally with greater honesty than men of the world.” Addison. --
To take up. (a) To stop. [ Obs. ] “Sinners at last take up and settle in a contempt of religion.” Tillotson. (b) To reform. [ Obs. ] Locke. --
To take up with. (a) To be contended to receive; to receive without opposition; to put up with; as, to take up with plain fare. “In affairs which may have an extensive influence on our future happiness, we should not take up with probabilities.” I. Watts. (b) To lodge with; to dwell with. [ Obs. ] L'Estrange. --
To take with, to please. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. That which is taken, such as the quantity of fish captured at one haul or catch, or the amouont of money collected during one event; as, the box-office take. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. (Print.) The quantity or copy given to a compositor at one time. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Imposition; fraud. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

p. p. of Take. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. to begin a leap from a surface or a flight into the air; especially, (of a bird or an airplane) to leave the ground and begin to fly; as, flight CA123 took off on schedule at 3:00 PM. [ PJC ]

2. To begin a period of accelerating growth or development; as, the economy took off in the third quarter. [ PJC ]

3. To begin a journey; to depart. [ PJC ]

v. t. 1. To remove, as from the surface or outside; to remove from the top of anything; as, to take off a load; to take off one's hat, coat or other article of clothing; to take off a coat of paint from a surface. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. To cut off; as, to take off the head, or a limb. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To destroy; as, to take off life. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To remove; to invalidate; as, to take off the force of an argument. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To withdraw; to call or draw away; as, the director took him off the project. Locke. [ 1913 Webster + PJC ]

6. To swallow; as, to take off a glass of wine. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To purchase; to take in trade. “The Spaniards having no commodities that we will take off.” Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To copy; to reproduce. “Take off all their models in wood.” Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To imitate; to mimic; to personate. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To find place for; to dispose of; as, more scholars than preferments can take off. [ R. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. To discount or deduct (from a price); the dealer took off twenty percent on remaining toys. [ PJC ]

n. 1. An imitation, especially in the way of caricature; -- used with of or on; as, the comedian did a hilarious takeoff on the president. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. The spot at which one takes off; specif., the place from which a jumper rises in leaping. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

The take-off should be selected with great care, and a pit of large dimensions provided on the landing side. Encyc. of Sport. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. The beginning of a leap from a surface or a flight into the air, especially the process or event of an airplane leaving the ground and beginning its flight; as, the takeoff of flight CA123 was scheduled for 3:00 PM. [ PJC ]

n. (Business, Finance) The acquisition of ownership of one company by another company, usually by purchasing a controlling percentage of its stock or by exchanging stock of the purchasing company for that of the purchased company. It is a hostile takeover if the management of the company being taken over is opposed to the deal. A hostile takeover is sometimes organized by a corporate raider.
Syn. -- acquisition, buyout [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. One who takes or receives; one who catches or apprehends. [ 1913 Webster ]

phr. 1. To be assigned or to accept the blame for some misdeed; as, Mary broke the vase, but she acted innocent and young Johnny had to take the heat. [ PJC ]

2. To withstand high temperature; as, the new radios can take the heat of a black car parked in the sun in Death Valley. [ PJC ]

3. Hence: To endure stressful conditions, expecially without signs of difficulty or complaint; as, if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen, [ PJC ]

n. (Mach.) That which takes up or tightens; specifically, a device in a sewing machine for drawing up the slack thread as the needle rises, in completing a stitch. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Undertook p. p. Undertaken p. pr. & vb. n. Undertaking. ] [ Under + take. ] 1. To take upon one's self; to engage in; to enter upon; to take in hand; to begin to perform; to set about; to attempt. [ 1913 Webster ]

To second, or oppose, or undertake
The perilous attempt. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically, to take upon one's self solemnly or expressly; to lay one's self under obligation, or to enter into stipulations, to perform or to execute; to covenant; to contract. [ 1913 Webster ]

I 'll undertake to land them on our coast. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence, to guarantee; to promise; to affirm. [ 1913 Webster ]

And he was not right fat, I undertake. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

And those two counties I will undertake
Your grace shall well and quietly enjoiy. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I dare undertake they will not lose their labor. Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To assume, as a character. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To engage with; to attack. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It is not fit your lordship should undertake every companion that you give offense to. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To have knowledge of; to hear. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To take or have the charge of. [ Obs. ] “Who undertakes you to your end.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Keep well those that ye undertake. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To take upon one's self, or assume, any business, duty, or province. [ 1913 Webster ]

O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. Isa. xxxviii. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To venture; to hazard. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It is the cowish terror of his spirit
That dare not undertake. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To give a promise or guarantee; to be surety. [ 1913 Webster ]

But on mine honor dare I undertake
For good lord Titus' innocence in all. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]