to take someone's part
- phrasal verb
:
defender a alguien
- In the debate, many people stood up to take my part and defend my viewpoint.
Examples
-
She shall not, though you take her part.
-
I'm not here to take your part.
-
"No, sir, she shall not, though you take her part."
-
You could take my part.
-
No, sir, she shall not, though you take her part.
-
Thank you, Godfather, for taking my part.
-
Tim and Eric have taken my part away from me like Garry Marshall did to me back with "Laverne and Shirley" and "Happy Days" when they chose Robin Williams over me.
-
She always takes his part during arguments, no matter what others say.
-
I appreciate you taking my part when my colleague questioned my work.
Synonyms
691
2.8
To speak up to support a person or idea when others criticize it
256
2.7
Defend or support someone who is treated unfairly
96
3.6
Support a person or group in an argument
88
4.3
To support one person or group in a dispute
59
4.3
To support someone when others criticize or attack them
39
3.1
To support one side in an argument
11
3.0
Support someone in an argument when others disagree
1
3.9
Support and defend other people who share a cause
1
4.0
Support one person or group in a disagreement
Begin to strongly defend a person or cause in public
Antonyms
How Supportive
64
4.2
∞
1.3
∞
1.0
44
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'take' (adopt/assume) combined with 'someone's part' (a position or role) gives a partial clue that the speaker is adopting a position related to that person, but the specific sense 'support or defend' is a metaphorical extension that is not fully predictable. There is a similar pattern in other languages (e.g. French 'prendre parti [pour quelqu’un]'), so the phrase is somewhat guessable but still likely requires prior exposure for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Take someone's part comes from the simple image of take and part: you 'take' someone's 'part' — their 'side' — in an argument, like stepping over to stand beside them, so it means 'to support or defend someone'.