Take over meaning
Take over means to start doing a job or a task that someone else was doing. It can also mean to get control of a company, usually by buying it.
take something over
take over · took · taken · taking
Can you take over? My arms are tired.
Take over meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary.
-
1
Start doing a job or a task that someone else was doing
take something over
- Can you take over? My arms are tired.
- Lisa will take over as manager in June.
- Her son took over the bakery when she retired.
-
2
Get control of a company, usually by buying it
take something over
- A big chain took over the little hotel.
- The firm was failing, so a rival took it over.
- They plan to take over three smaller companies.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use take over 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 over separable?
Take over can be separable: take over the shop, take the shop over, take it over. It is also used with no object: I’ll drive first, then you can take over.
When something takes over your life or your home, it becomes much too big: The kids’ toys have taken over the living room.
Verb tenses for take over
| Present | I take over · she takes over |
|---|---|
| Past | took over |
| Present perfect | have taken over |
| -ing form | taking over |
Common mistakes with take over
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: She took over Mr Patel as head teacher.
Right: She took over from Mr Patel as head teacher.
Use from before the person you replace.
Wrong: A bank bought the company and took over it.
Right: A bank bought the company and took it over.
A pronoun goes between take and over.
Wrong: Can you take on? I need a break.
Right: Can you take over? I need a break.
Take on means accept new work; take over means continue in someone’s place.
Synonyms and opposites of take over
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- take onaccept new work or a new responsibility
- replacedo a job instead of someone
- buy outbuy a company or someone’s share of it
Opposite
- hand overgive control or a job to someone else
- step downleave an important job
Take over quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
-
1I’m tired of driving. Can you ___?
Take over means continue in someone’s place.
-
2Choose the right sentence.
Use take over from before the person.
-
3A large company bought the small café. What did it do?
Take over a company means get control of it.
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 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 awayB2remove something or someone from a place or a person
Take over FAQ
Questions people ask about take over.
What is a takeover?
A takeover, one word, is when one company gets control of another: The takeover was announced on Monday.
What is the difference between take over and take on?
Take over means start doing what someone else did. Take on means accept extra work or hire someone: We took on two new staff.
What is the past tense of take over?
Took over, and the past participle is taken over: The new owners have taken over the hotel.
Use take over 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.