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to take the point

to take the point

3 4.9
To understand and accept that someone's remark makes sense even if you do not agree
  • idiom
  • Texting
: entender el punto
  • I take the point about disrespecting the artist's original vision, but I think it is one thing to colorize the original photographs rather than do it in Photoshop.

And I, I take the point that they, we hope they won't be permanent.

Examples

  • All right, I'll take the point.

  • Okay, I take the point about the film not clearly qualifying as hate speech.

    Blog text (12)
  • But at this point, maybe you can take the point and regroup from there.

    Blog text (12)
  • I take the point about the eighty-seven branch libraries, but for comparison, the British Library has an operating budget of 138 million and no endowment to speak of; most of its money comes from government grant-in-aid.

    Blog text (20)
  • I take the point, Mr. Rosenkranz; it's possible that you have a warrant in your pocket and you don't say anything about it, although that would seem like very silly—stupid police work.

    Academic text (2018)
  • I understand your concerns, and I definitely take the point that we need more evidence.

  • After listening to her argument, I finally took the point she was trying to make.

  • He didn't agree at first, but eventually he took the point about the project's limitations.

Synonyms

to get the point
vsto take the point
  • Informal
51 2.7

To understand the main idea of what someone says or does

also accepts the remark's importance even without agreement
to get the picture
vsto take the point
  • Informal
37 3.2

To understand what someone is saying or what is happening

focuses on understanding and accepting the remark's significance
to get the drift
vsto take the point
  • Informal
4 4.5

To understand the main idea without knowing every detail

emphasizes seeing and accepting the remark's importance despite doubts

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

119 3.9

Ignore something or someone on purpose

How Convinced

to take the point
  • Texting
3 4.9
to get the point
  • Informal
51 2.7

Surface Forms

take the point infinitive
taken the point past participle
taking the point present participle
takes the point third person singular

Morphology

take + the + point

The meaning is directly derived from combining 'take' in the sense 'understand/accept' with 'point' meaning 'meaning/argument', so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer this usage. This is a common compositional pattern (take + NP meaning grasp/accept an argument) and is therefore transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Take the point may come from the image of grabbing a clear, sharp point or idea; to take it is to hold it and admit it matters, so the phrase means 'to understand and accept' someone's argument.