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Glite Dictionary
to take one for the team

to take one for the team

15 6.4
To accept something unpleasant so other people benefit
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : sacrificarse
  • If we want to win this game, someone needs to take one for the team and play through the pain.
  • take one for the team
  • just take one for the team
  • need to take one for the team

If that would do it, I would take one for the team and do that.

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Examples

  • So, kudos to this guy for taking one for the team.

    Blog text (9)

  • So, please, take one for the team.

    The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

  • If that would do it, I would take one for the team and do that.

    I've Had It

  • And I said, I would take one for the team.

    What Happens Later (2023)

  • Everyone working on the show, you gotta take one for the team.

    North of the 10 (2022)

  • Time to take one for the team.

    Elsewhere (2009)

  • I took one for the team.

    Postal (2007)

  • I think it's great that you are putting yourself out there and taking one for the team.

    Blog text (7)

  • All I'm asking is that you take one for the team, all right?

    The Con Is On (2018)

  • Sometimes as a parent of little ones, you've just got to take one for the team, sit out and let them, let them recharge.

Synonyms

to sacrifice
vsto take one for the team
394 3.4

Give up something important to help someone or reach a goal

is about willingly accepting hardship to benefit the whole group rather than an individual
to make a sacrifice
vsto take one for the team
37 3.9

To give up something important to help other people or reach a long-term goal

is specifically about willingly enduring hardship for the group's benefit

How Self-Sacrificing

to take one for the team
  • Informal
15 6.4
to compromise
215 3.7
to help out
  • Informal
486 1.0

Surface Forms

take one for the team infinitive
taking one for the team present participle
takes one for the team third person singular
took one for the team past
taken one for the team past participle

Morphology

take + one + for + the + team

The components 'take' (to accept/undergo) and 'for the team' (on behalf of the group) provide a clear core idea that someone is accepting something on the group's behalf, so part of the meaning is compositional. However, the phrase 'take one' (i.e. take a hit or make a sacrifice) and the pragmatic sense of willingly enduring something for others is idiomatic and not fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Take one for the team comes from sports: a player would take a hard hit or a penalty so the rest of the team could keep playing and have a better chance to win. So, it now means 'to accept something unpleasant for the good of the group'.