take up

Short definition from Wiktionary

Noun

1. 1
   Alternative form of take-up.
2. 2
   The act of taking something up, by tightening, absorption, or reeling in.
3. 3
   That which takes up or tightens; specifically, a device in a sewing machine or loom for drawing up the slack thread as the needle rises, in completing a stitch.
4. 4
   Acceptance (of a proposal, offer, request, etc.).

Verb

1. 1
   To lift; to raise: To pick up.
2. 2
   To lift; to raise: To remove (a ground or floor surface, including the bed of a road or the track of a railway).
3. 3
   To lift; to raise: To absorb (a liquid), to soak up.
4. 4
   To lift; to raise: To shorten (a garment), especially by hemming.
5. 5
   To lift; to raise: To tighten or wind in (a rope, slack, etc.)
6. 6
   To occupy; to consume (space or time).
7. 7
   To take, to assume (one’s appointed or intended place).
8. 8
   To set about doing or dealing with (something): To begin doing (an activity) on a regular basis.
9. 9
   To set about doing or dealing with (something): To begin functioning in (a role or position), to assume (an office).
10. 10
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To address or discuss (an issue).
11. 11
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To accept, to adopt (a proposal, offer, request, cause, challenge, etc.).
12. 12
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To accept (a proposal, offer, request, cause, challenge, etc.) from.
13. 13
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To join in (saying something).
14. 14
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To resume, to return to something that was interrupted.
15. 15
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To implement, to employ, to put into use.
16. 16
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To review the solutions to a test or other assessment with a class.
17. 17
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To begin occupying and working (a plot of uncultivated land), to break in.
18. 18
    To set about doing or dealing with (something): To pay off, to clear (a debt, loan, mortgage, etc.).
19. 19
    To arrest (a person).
20. 20
    To reprove or reproach (a person).
21. 21
    To begin to support or patronize, to sponsor (a person), to adopt as protégé.