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😒 To humiliate 🎈 To remove 🏚️ To demolish 📦 To lower 📝 To write
to take down

to take down

30 3.4
To write something so you can remember it
  • phrasal verb
  • /teɪk daʊn/
translation icon : anotar
  • I managed to sneak a look at an address he took down when he was talking on the phone.

OK, I will just take a message down the old fashioned way and stick it in your box.

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Examples

  • Somehow, though, he found himself taking down his new Hollywood agent's name and number.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • And I took down the address.

    Feminists: What Were They Thinking? (2018)

  • Again, Washington and Green arrived and took down the information.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • I must caution you that anything you say will be taken down in writing.

    Wicked Little Letters (2024)

  • The dispatcher took down the customer's location and verified his or her code number.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Francesca sits with the mother as two policemen take down a description.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I'm gonna hand you off to my associate Kirk and he's gonna take down all your information and I'm gonna be at your place later, Ted.

    Licorice Pizza (2021)

  • Please take down the meeting notes so we can review them later.

  • The teacher asked the students to take down the important details from the lecture.

  • Make sure to take down my phone number before you leave.

Synonyms

to record
vsto take down
762 2.3

To make a written, audio, or video copy of something for later use

focuses on writing specifically, not other media
to write down
vsto take down
214 1.1

Put information on paper to help you remember it later

is used both for memory and for formal official keeping
to note
vsto take down
158 1.3

To write something down so you do not forget it

focuses on remembering or formally preserving information rather than briefness
to put down
vsto take down
117 2.4

To write something so you do not forget it

is used for memory and for official recording rather than just marking
to get down
vsto take down
52 3.4

To write something down on paper or a screen

covers simple memory notes and formal documentation equally
to jot down
vsto take down
  • Informal
27 2.9

To write a short note quickly to remember something

is broader, used for any written note including official records
to set down
vsto take down
13 3.8

To write words or information so they are recorded

is more general, including informal memory notes as well as formal recording

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to overlook
243 2.9

To not notice someone or something you should see

How Thoroughly

to transcribe
27 4.2
to take down
30 3.4
to write down
214 1.1
to jot down
  • Informal
27 2.9

Surface Forms

take down infinitive
taking down present participle
takes down third person singular
took down past
taken down past participle

Morphology

take + down

The meaning 'to remove or dismantle' is directly derivable from combining 'take' (to grasp/remove) with the directional particle 'down' (indicating lowering or removal); this fits the common verb+particle compositional pattern in English. Because the sense is literal and follows a cross-linguistically common motion/placement logic, an average B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Take down comes from the old job of a secretary who would take words down onto paper as someone spoke. That's why it means 'to write something down' or record information.