to take up
56
2.0
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk ʌp/
:
recoger
- Senator Mikulski arranged for a boat to take us up the west coast to Alaska.
What if I told you to take up the towel?
- What if I told you to take up the towel?
- What did you take from Germany, like the little possessions, memento that you took up to space?
- And Trinity has taken Neo up in this strange building to meet Morpheus for the first time.
Examples
-
Darling, come help Oliver take his things up to his room.
-
Take this bag up to the big room.
-
What if I told you to take up the towel?
-
Take up this stuff, fast!
-
Give us the keys and we'll take the bags up to your apartment while you find parking.
Fiction book (1993) -
"The dark-haired woman bent to take up the cap at her feet."
Fiction book (1994) -
Some people with small gardens complained about the space taken up by the two 63-gallon containers.
Academic text (1996) -
There was time only to take up a few snared birds, the white gyr among them.
Fiction book (1993) -
Take up her bed.
-
Could you please take up that box and hand it to me?
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Move someone or something to another place
834
1.0
To lift something or someone from the ground with your hands
553
1.0
To raise something higher by hand or with a machine
127
1.9
To lift something using a deep curved tool or your hand
107
1.1
To raise someone or something to a higher place
47
2.8
To lift or pick up something quickly with your hand
43
2.1
Bring things together by picking them up with your hands
24
4.6
To grab something quickly, often before someone else
11
2.1
Move something to a higher place by pushing from below or behind
7
2.1
To lift something or someone to a higher place
5
2.7
To take something out by picking it up, often carefully or with a tool
3
4.4
Pull a piece of clothing higher on the body
3
4.5
To lift something heavy with a lot of effort
1
4.2
Pick something up quickly by moving down fast
1
6.1
To lift something with effort to see how heavy it is
To lift something to a higher position
Antonyms
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to begin or start an activity' is only partly derivable from combining 'take' (to grasp/assume) with 'up' (a directional/particle), because the sense is a metaphorical extension of 'lifting into action' rather than a literal composition. As a common phrasal-verb pattern in English, it is somewhat guessable but not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, and cross-linguistic equivalents vary.
Etymology
Take up comes from the action of lifting or scooping something, as when a spoon takes up soup from a pot or you scoop up marbles with your hand. That clear image explains why it means 'to pick up' or lift something.