take away

Formstakes away, taking away, took away, taken away

1. 1
   carry offphrasal verbtransitive

   To remove something from where it is and move it somewhere else.

   A truck comes every Tuesday to take away the recycling.

   The museum's paintings were taken away for cleaning during the renovation.

   Similarremove, collect

   Oppositebring, deliver

   Note

   The object can sit between the two words or after them: take the plates away, take away the plates. A pronoun has to go in the middle, as in take them away, while a long object usually comes last: take away everything left on the table.

2. 2
   phrasal verbtransitive

   To cause someone to lose something, physical or abstract, by removing it.

   Critics say the bill would take away the right to appeal.

   A hot bath and an early night took away most of the ache in her shoulders.

   Similarremove, eliminate, revoke, relieve

   Oppositegive, grant, restore

   Note

   The person who loses out is introduced by from: the new law will take away some important rights from immigrant residents. When the object is pain, fear or an ache, the same verb describes relief rather than loss, as with pills that take away the pain.

3. 3
   main pointnoun · take-awaycountable

   A conclusion, idea, or lesson someone gains at an event and keeps for future use.

   The key take-away from the conference was that small firms need better cybersecurity.

   Each chapter closes with a short list of practical take-aways for managers.

   Similarlesson, conclusion, insight, message

4. 4
   phrasal verbtransitive or intransitive

   To subtract an amount, or to lessen or diminish something.

   Take away the cost of materials, and the profit is surprisingly small.

   The cold, wet weather took away from what should have been a perfect evening.

   Similarsubtract, deduct, detract

   Oppositeadd

   Note

   With from it means to lessen the worth of something: the noise took away from the music. The idiom take nothing away from someone turns that into praise, giving full credit, as in Ian Hughes's 2011 BBC report: “take nothing away from Arsenal”.

5. 5
   leave with (idea)phrasal verbtransitive

   To come away from an experience with a memory or impression that one thinks about later.

   Most visitors take away a sense of how fragile the reef really is.

   She took away the impression that the company was hiding something.

   Similargain

   Note

   The object is an impression, a point or a lesson, and the experience it came from often follows: what I took away from the lecture. The noun a take-away, the lesson learned comes straight from this use of the verb.

6. 6
   to go (food)noun · take-awayAustraliaNew ZealandUKcountable

   A restaurant selling food to be eaten off the premises, or food bought there.

   We were too tired to cook, so we had a take-away in front of the telly.

   The fish-and-chip take-away on the corner stays open until eleven.

   Similartakeout

   Note

   In Britain, Australia and New Zealand this is the everyday word for what Americans call takeout, and it names both the shop and the meal: a Chinese take-away can be either. It is also written solid, takeaway.

7. 7
   to go (food)adjective · take-away

   Relating to food that is meant to be eaten away from the place where it was bought.

   Take-away containers piled up in the office trash by Friday.

   Many restaurants switched to take-away meals when their dining rooms had to close.

   Similartakeout

8. 8
   phrasal verbtransitive

   To make a person leave a place and go elsewhere, usually against their will.

   Officers took away three protesters who refused to leave the building.

   Don't let them take away my father without telling us where he's going!

   Similarremove, detain

9. 9
   keep fromphrasal verbtransitive

   To prevent someone from being somewhere or doing something, or to limit how much they can.

   Constant travel can take even devoted parents away from their children for weeks at a time.

   She was often taken away from her research by committee meetings.

10. 10
    seize loved onephrasal verbtransitive

    To take a person, usually a relative or close friend, from someone by kidnapping or killing them.

    The cartel had threatened to take away his children if he testified.

    The war took away two of her brothers within a single year.

11. 11
    minus (in sums)prepositionchildish

    Minus: used between two numbers in a subtraction, chiefly by or to young children.

    "Eight take away three leaves five," the teacher said, holding up her fingers.

    My son counted on his fingers and announced that twelve take away four was eight.

    Similarminus, less

    Oppositeplus

    Note

    It is the minus of the early classroom, said aloud while children learn to count. Because take away works as a preposition here, the sum takes a singular verb: five take away two is three, or leaves three.

12. 12
    nounnonstandard

    Nonstandard spelling of takeaway.

    Her email summed up the main take away from the meeting in one line.

    "My main take away," he posted, "is that nobody reads the manual."

    Note

    Written as two words, the noun counts as nonstandard; the accepted forms are takeaway and the hyphenated take-away. The open spelling belongs to the verb (take away the plates) and to the children's minus, where the two words still work separately.

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