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Glite Dictionary
to take legal action

to take legal action

8 4.8
To start a court case against someone by suing them
  • phrasal verb
  • Formal
translation icon : tomar acciones legales
  • After her complaint was ignored, she knew she had to take legal action against the company.

Examples

  • I have no other choice but to take legal action.

    Blog text (20)

  • Why did you not take legal action immediately afterwards?

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Are you going to pay this thing, or do I have to take legal action?"

    Fiction book (1994)

  • If the city will not purchase the land, they will be forced to take legal action against the city.

    Blog text (23)

  • I'll take legal action when I get back.

    Hour of the Gun (1967)

  • Seven individuals are consulting lawyers about taking legal action.

    Sven (2024)

  • I hope Dale takes legal action against everyone who defamed his business for damages.

    Blog text (2)

  • Mr. Caprice, do you intend to take legal action against the city for false arrest?

    Dick Tracy (1990)

  • Research has shown that patients and their families understand that errors and mistakes can occur and that they are less likely to take legal action if they believe that they have been treated fairly and that everything was done to ease the impact of the error.

    Academic text (2001)

  • When a new government passed a law prohibiting subsidies to Mobil, the company took legal action and prevailed.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

to sue
vsto take legal action
∞ 3.7

To take someone to court to ask for money

is the general act of initiating official legal processes
to bring
vsto take legal action
  • Formal
301 7.6

To start a court case against someone

is the full act of commencing official legal proceedings in court
to file a lawsuit
vsto take legal action
  • Formal
35 4.6

To start legal action by giving a complaint to a court

is the broader act of beginning formal legal procedures
to litigate
vsto take legal action
  • Specialized
27 8.2

Take a disagreement to court so a judge can decide it

is more about starting the process rather than managing court cases

How Legal

to prosecute
354 6.1
to sue
∞ 3.7
to take legal action
  • Formal
8 4.8
to complain
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

take legal action infinitive
taking legal action present participle
takes legal action third person singular
took legal action past
taken legal action past participle

Morphology

take + legal + action

The meaning is compositionally clear: 'take' (to initiate), 'legal' (pertaining to law) and 'action' (formal steps or a lawsuit) combine to mean initiating official legal proceedings. This follows the common pattern 'take action' with a specifying adjective and is likely inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Take legal action imagines that you take a problem to a court or a lawyer by filing papers, so you are moving the matter into the law. So, it means 'to start a court case' or 'to sue' someone.