whatever it takes
101
5.2
- idiom
:
cueste lo que cueste
- I swore to myself I would try to help, whatever it takes.
So do whatever it takes to find Emile.
- So do whatever it takes to find Emile.
- Say yes to whatever it takes, no matter what.
- Like Doug did whatever it took to get those orders out.
- I know, again, that's pretty fairy tale like, but do whatever it takes.
- It's a speech that has said we're going to do whatever it takes to end the war and end slavery.
- And if you're feeling suicidal and and so she is prepared to say whatever it takes to garner sympathy.
- And I just remember thinking, I don't know, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this.
- So many people who choose to go to college cobble together savings, loans, financial aid, whatever it takes.
- You know that you will stand up or you will do whatever it takes so that the so that the suffering doesn't continue.
- And then and then, and then the other thing is like when suicide is, I don't just mean suicide by doing whatever it takes to end your life right there and then.
- Like getting through this, manning up, like just staying focused, get through it, find a way, whatever it takes.
- In the film Roadhouse, Patrick Swayze plays a bouncer, the head bouncer, the kind a guy who's going to do whatever it takes to win a fight.
- You start, look, that's relentless that they're willing to do whatever it takes.
Examples
-
We want our loved ones to succeed, and we'll do whatever it takes to help them.
Blog text (16) -
First, we will continue doing whatever it takes to support the British people and businesses through this moment of crisis.
-
You will do whatever it takes to get this man to talk.
-
When you want something, you have to do whatever it takes to get it.
Fiction book (1993) -
If there's a real threat out there, the president and Congress will spend whatever it takes to protect the nation.
Academic text (2011) -
Winston-Salem is ready to do whatever it takes to keep you onboard.
-
In fact, he made a precedent-breaking statement that the United States would do "whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan.
Academic text (2002) -
No, I won't let anything stand in my way, I'll work... nights, weekends, whatever it takes.
-
Local authorities are prepared to do whatever it takes to get residents to a safer place.
-
If you could get Josh back, wouldn't you do whatever it takes no matter the consequences?
Synonyms
23
4.1
Willing to do anything to get something, even if it is dangerous or expensive
18
4.8
Take any action needed to reach a goal, even when it is difficult
7
4.2
Do everything you can to achieve something important
5
7.0
To do whatever is needed to reach a goal, even if the actions are difficult or harmful
1
5.9
To try very hard and do anything to achieve something
Do something even if it costs a lot
How Determined
62
3.7
101
5.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'anything necessary' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'whatever' (anything) + 'it takes' (what is required), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer 'whatever is required to achieve the goal'. The pronoun 'it' functions as a dummy object and the pattern 'whatever X takes' (i.e. whatever is required) is cross-linguistically common, making the phrase immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrase whatever it takes creates a simple picture: imagine someone facing a high wall and using whatever tool it takes — a rope, a ladder, or even climbing by hand — to get over it. So it means 'to do anything necessary to achieve a goal', no matter how hard.