Take in meaning
Take in means to let a person or an animal live in your home. It can also mean to understand and remember something you hear or read.
take somebody or something in
take in · took · taken · taking
My aunt took in two kittens from the street.
Take in 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
Let a person or an animal live in your home
take somebody or something in
- My aunt took in two kittens from the street.
- They took me in when I had nowhere to live.
- The village took in families after the floods.
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2
Understand and remember something you hear or read
take something in
- It was too much information to take in.
- I read the letter twice but couldn’t take it in.
- Did the students take in what you said?
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3
Trick someone into believing something that is not true
take somebody in
- Don’t be taken in by those cheap offers.
- The fake email took my dad in completely.
- I can’t believe I was taken in by his story.
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4
Look at something carefully and enjoy it
take somebody or something in
- We sat for an hour, taking in the view.
- Slow down and take in the city around you.
- She stopped to take in the mountains.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use take in 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 in separable?
Take in is separable: take in a stray cat, take a stray cat in, take it in. When it means trick, it is often passive: I was taken in by the advert.
Tailors also use take in to mean make clothes narrower: Can you take this dress in at the waist? The opposite is let out.
Verb tenses for take in
| Present | I take in · she takes in |
|---|---|
| Past | took in |
| Present perfect | have taken in |
| -ing form | taking in |
Common mistakes with take in
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: It was so much news. I couldn’t take in it.
Right: It was so much news. I couldn’t take it in.
A pronoun goes between take and in.
Wrong: I was taken in from his lies.
Right: I was taken in by his lies.
Use by in the passive.
Wrong: The shelter takes on stray dogs.
Right: The shelter takes in stray dogs.
Take in means give a home; take on means give someone a job.
Synonyms and opposites of take in
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- absorba formal word for taking in information
- fooltrick someone, often for fun or money
- give shelterthe formal way to say let someone stay
Opposite
- turn awayrefuse to let someone come in
- kick outmake someone leave your home; informal
Take in quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1The shelter ___ dogs that have no home.
Take in means give a home to a person or animal.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The pronoun goes between take and in.
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3Sam paid for a fake concert ticket online. He was ___.
Be taken in means be tricked.
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 downB2remove something from a wall or a high place, or take it apart
- take awayB2remove something or someone from a place or a person
Take in FAQ
Questions people ask about take in.
What does take it all in mean?
It means slowly understand or enjoy everything around you, often after big news or in a beautiful place: Give me a minute to take it all in.
What does take in mean for the police?
If the police take someone in, they take them to the police station to ask questions: Two men were taken in for questioning.
What does intake mean?
Intake is a noun for the amount of something you take into your body or a group: Try to cut down your sugar intake.
Use take in 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.