to take off
86
3.0
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk ɔf/
:
despegar
- After years of hard work, her career finally took off when she landed a major contract.
- really take off
- the Internet took off
And, and then the market really took off through December.
- And, and then the market really took off through December.
- Most people don't tell you that it took off after government made it free.
- Is this technology likely to take off faster?
- American business took off, and that is not unusual.
- You know, a lot of web platforms take off like this.
- His career doesn't take off with with the writing as as he'd hoped.
- And then it got to be that as capitalism took off and provided things.
- It could be a huge taking off and your startup company takes off.
- But this cookie business has taken off and has become more than just a hobby.
- The physical retail business took off, you know, with thoughts on why that was.
- And yeah, it just it just took off by a storm.
- And the business just started to take off again, you know, and now why don't you?
Examples
-
And then my life just took off like a rocket ship.
-
Developments in information technology also help explain why the memory boom has taken off over the last generation.
Academic text (2001) -
And, and then the market really took off through December.
-
And yeah, things really took off once I started.
-
Is this technology likely to take off faster?
-
I mean, I imagine your career is going to take off now.
-
We want it to take off.
-
And the real estate market has taken off on the back of a healthy construction sector.
Academic text (2008) -
Until, of course, VR really takes off and we're spending most of our days in the virtual world.
-
As an industry, medical illustrations for litigation took off during the mid-1980s.
Academic text (1994)
Synonyms
60
3.2
To become popular with many people
52
4.1
To rise very quickly to a high level
26
3.4
To become very popular quickly, often online
23
4.4
To quickly become very popular and liked by many people
7
4.5
To become very successful and famous in your work
7
3.9
To sell very quickly because many people want it
2
4.8
To start quickly and get an early lead
1
4.9
Start a new activity very successfully and make quick progress
Become very popular or successful very quickly
To become very popular with customers and sell a lot very quickly
Antonyms
How Popular
- Texting
61
3.8
52
4.1
86
3.0
9
4.2
11
3.0
57
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
take + off
The sense 'to become successful or popular' is a metaphorical extension of the literal 'take' + 'off' idea of departing or launching (as with a plane or a product), so there is a recognizable link to the constituent meanings. However, this extended, idiomatic sense is not fully predictable from the parts for an average B1 learner without prior exposure, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Take off meaning to become successful comes from the picture of something rising quickly like a plane. When an idea or product takes off, it grows fast in popularity, so it means 'to become successful or popular'.