Take away meaning
Take away means to remove something or someone from a place or a person. It can also mean to buy cooked food in a café or restaurant to eat somewhere else.
take something away
take away · took · taken · taking
The waiter took our plates away.
Take away meanings and examples
4 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Remove something or someone from a place or a person
take something away
- The waiter took our plates away.
- Mum took away my phone for a week.
- That knife is sharp. Take it away from the baby!
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2
Buy cooked food in a café or restaurant to eat somewhere else
take away
- Two coffees to take away, please.
- Is that to eat in or take away?
- We didn’t want to cook, so we took away a curry.
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3
Subtract one number from another
take something away
- Ten take away three is seven.
- If you take away the tax, it’s much cheaper.
- What do you get if you take two away from nine?
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4
Make a pain or a feeling go away
take something away
- These tablets should take the pain away.
- Nothing can take away the sadness of that day.
- A long walk always takes away my stress.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use take away in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is take away separable?
Take away is separable: take away the plates, take the plates away, take them away. Add from for the person or place: They took the toy away from him.
Takeaway is also a noun. In UK English it is a meal you buy to eat at home, or the shop that sells it: Let’s get a takeaway tonight.
Verb tenses for take away
| Present | I take away · she takes away |
|---|---|
| Past | took away |
| Present perfect | have taken away |
| -ing form | taking away |
Common mistakes with take away
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: The teacher took away my phone of me.
Right: The teacher took my phone away from me.
Use from before the person.
Wrong: We’ve finished. Can you take away them?
Right: We’ve finished. Can you take them away?
A pronoun goes between take and away.
Wrong: I’d like a coffee for take away.
Right: I’d like a coffee to take away.
Say to take away in the UK, or to go in the US.
Synonyms and opposites of take away
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- take outremove something from inside a bag, box or place
- removethe formal word
- subtractthe formal maths word
Opposite
- bringcarry something to the place where you are
- addput numbers together
Take away quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1Can you ___ these dirty cups, please?
Take away means remove from a place.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Use take something away from someone.
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3In a London café: “Is that to eat here or to ___?”
To take away means to eat somewhere else.
More phrasal verbs with take
All phrasal verbs with take, by level, with an exercise
10 phrasal verbs start with take. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
- take offA2remove clothes, shoes or glasses from your body
- take outA2remove something from a bag, a box, a pocket or a place
- take upB1start a new hobby or activity
- take backB1return something you bought to the shop
- take afterB2look or behave like an older person in your family
- take overB2start doing a job or a task that someone else was doing
- take onB2give someone a job
- take inB2let a person or an animal live in your home
- take downB2remove something from a wall or a high place, or take it apart
Take away FAQ
Questions people ask about take away.
What is a key takeaway?
At work, a takeaway is the main idea you learn from a talk or a meeting: The key takeaway is that we need more staff.
What does take my breath away mean?
If something takes your breath away, it is so beautiful or surprising that you stop for a moment: The view took my breath away.
Should I say take away or take out for food?
British people say to take away. Americans usually say to go: For here or to go? Takeout is the US noun for this food.
Use take away in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.