take-up
Americannoun
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the act of taking up.
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Machinery.
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any of various devices for taking up slack, winding in, or compensating for the looseness of parts due to wear.
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the contraction of fabric resulting from the wet operations in the finishing process, especially fulling.
verb
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to adopt the study, practice, or activity of
to take up gardening
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to occupy and break in (uncultivated land)
he took up some hundreds of acres in the back country
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to shorten (a garment or part of a garment)
she took all her skirts up three inches
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to pay off (a note, mortgage, etc)
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to agree to or accept (an invitation, etc)
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to pursue further or resume (something)
he took up French where he left off
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to absorb (a liquid)
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to adopt as a protégé; act as a patron to
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to occupy or fill (space or time)
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to interrupt, esp in order to contradict or criticize
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to argue or dispute with (someone)
can I take you up on two points in your talk?
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to accept what is offered by (someone)
let me take you up on your invitation
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to discuss with (someone); refer to
to take up a fault with the manufacturers
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(intr) to begin to keep company or associate with
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noun
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the claiming or acceptance of something, esp a state benefit, that is due or available
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( as modifier )
take-up rate
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machinery the distance through which a part must move to absorb the free play in a system
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(modifier) denoting the part of a mechanism on which film, tape, or wire is wound up
a take-up spool on a tape recorder
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Raise, lift, as in We have to take up the old carpet and sand the floor . [c. 1300]
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Reduce in size, shorten, tighten, as in I have to take up the hem of this coat , or You have to take up the slack in that reel or you'll never land a fish . [c. 1800]
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Station oneself, settle in, as in We took up our positions at the front . [Mid-1500s]
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Accept an option, bet, or challenge, as in No one wanted to take up that bet . This usage is often expanded to take someone up on , as in You're offering to clean the barn? I'll take you up on that . Take up dates from about 1700, the variant from the early 1900s.
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Develop an interest in, begin an activity, as in Jim took up gardening . [Mid-1400s] Also see go into , def. 3.
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Use up or occupy entirely, as in The extra duties took up most of my time , or This desk takes up too much space in the office , or How much room will your car take up? [c. 1600]
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Begin again, resume, as in I'll take up the story where you left off . [Mid-1600s]
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Deal with, as in Let's take up these questions one at a time . [c. 1500]
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Absorb, as in These large trees are taking up all the water in the soil . [Late 1600s]
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Support, adopt as a protegé, as in She's always taking up one or another young singer . [Late 1300s] Also see the subsequent entries beginning with take up .
Etymology
Origin of take-up
First recorded in 1815–25; noun use of verb phrase take up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The take-up of electrification has not been as strong as the manufacturers - and governments - hoped.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
Management plans to repeat the job-cut program in 2026 after strong take-up in the previous round, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026
Assuming every eligible child participates in the program, in what the firm calls a “100% take-up scenario,” seed deposits alone imply 14 million qualifying newborns between 2025 and 2028.
From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025
In this situation, oil demand peaks at 102 million barrels a day around 2030, as global electric vehicle market share rises to over 50% by 2035 from over 20% despite less U.S. take-up.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 12, 2025
When the film was over, the end of it whipped noisily around and around the take-up reel until Etienne turned off the machine and the rectangle of light disappeared.
From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
