to take the bus
74
1.0
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk ðə bʌs/
- Every morning, I take the bus to work instead of driving.
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeI was meant to take the bus, but my other call ran over.
- I was meant to take the bus, but my other call ran over.
- I mean, if you drive a car to work, but you could take the bus, you're just doing it on a budget.
- Well, no, take the bike out, make him take the bus downtown.
- I would bike in or walk in or take the bus and, you know, walk around, get some books.
- Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever met anyone who's ever taken the bus before.
- She came out to me and she was like, hold on, Your grandmother, She took the bus.
- They have to drive to work or take the bus rather than walk to the the work, the factory or the steelworks and so on.
- Don't fucking overthink stuff or take the bus and go knock door to door.
- If you can't carry a bag confidently and you can't put a a backpack in an overhead compartment, you're not going to take the bus.
Examples
-
Why don't we just take the bus?
-
We used to take the bus to the library.
-
I was meant to take the bus, but my other call ran over.
-
You know, I have to take the bus every morning.
-
And tomorrow you and I will take the bus to school.
Fiction book (1992) -
On my lunch break, I took the bus to the casting office and picked up the sides.
Fiction book (2000) -
The first time we went to Harvard Square, we took the bus.
Fiction book (1995) -
The new violin teacher was near the soccer field, so the girls could still take the bus together.
Fiction book (1998) -
My friend waits for me at a nearby intersection to take the bus to school with me.
Fiction book (1996) -
An extremely resilient and civic-minded person, Shelby does not mind taking the bus to his job in Seattle.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
12
1.0
To get on a bus before it leaves
7
1.4
To move yourself or other people by bus
How Dependent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to travel by bus' is directly and compositionally built from 'take' (use a particular vehicle or route) plus 'bus' (a large vehicle); the definite article 'the' is only a grammatical marker. This verb + vehicle pattern (take the train/bus/taxi) is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Take the bus shows the simple picture of getting on a vehicle: you take a bus to go somewhere instead of walking or driving. That's why it means 'to travel by bus' today.