to take down
144
5.1
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk daʊn/
- Informal
:
dejar en ridículo
- They get to take down the powers that be for all of us.
But why would those guys want to take down Nixon?
- But why would those guys want to take down Nixon?
- They get to take down the powers that be for all of us.
- As people become more notorious, the desire to take them down also increases in kind.
- But if you take down Lincoln, you've taken down the idea of America.
- They, they, they can take you down no matter what good work you do.
- And now he's taking down the entire country.
Examples
-
Every chance he gets, he takes me down a peg.
-
As people become more notorious, the desire to take them down also increases in kind.
-
They, they, they can take you down no matter what good work you do.
-
And they will then take themselves down sometimes to take you down.
-
So when you take him down this time, you take him down hard, okay?
-
I want you three to promise you'll take me down, no different from the rest.
Fiction book (1996) -
"Gentlemen," she said, "we've got to take these people down."
Fiction book (1999) -
But if you take down Lincoln, you've taken down the idea of America.
-
University leaders are generally quick to take down and denounce hateful speech.
Academic text (2017) -
The comedian took down his critics with a sharp, witty reply.
Synonyms
414
6.1
Make someone feel very ashamed and foolish, often in front of others
66
6.3
To harm someone's reputation so others stop trusting them
62
4.5
To make someone lose respect or honor by doing something shameful
55
4.9
To make someone feel unimportant by saying bad things about them
55
5.1
To treat someone so they feel ashamed or less respected
53
6.8
To make someone feel less respected or important
48
7.8
To say bad things about someone without a good reason to make them seem less important
45
5.0
To make someone or something seem not important
37
5.9
To criticize someone strongly
23
8.2
To say angry, insulting things about someone or something
15
4.2
Completely destroy an idea, argument, or reputation
10
6.9
Tear something into many pieces or say very bad things about it
7
7.9
To speak badly about someone in public to hurt their reputation
4
8.1
To make quick, unfair critical remarks about someone or their ideas
3
7.6
Make someone feel less proud by criticizing or embarrassing them
3
8.6
To say bad things about someone to make them look worse
1
7.1
To speak badly about someone or something in public
1
6.8
Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
To say things that make other people feel small
Say someone's work or ideas are not important and make them feel small
Antonyms
How Damaging
∞
2.0
- Offensive
414
6.1
- Informal
144
5.1
28
7.7
701
3.3
245
1.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
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 here comes from the image of taking someone down, like pulling them off a stage so they fall and look smaller, which becomes a way to show loss of respect. So it means 'to criticize or humiliate someone'.