Basic+ Word of the Day: take

take (verb) past tense: took

Children taking the bus to school.

If you take something, it means that you have it now because of something that you did.

• He took a glass from the cupboard.

If you take something, it can also mean that you bring it with you.

• It’s cold. I think I’ll take a jacket.

Or it can mean that you eat or drink something.

• You have to take this medicine in the morning and the evening.
• Do you take sugar in your coffee?

If it takes one minute to do something, it means that you do that thing for one minute.

• It takes 7 hours to fly from New York to London.

If you take the train (or bus, tram, etc.), it means that you go somewhere by train.

• I’ll take the bus into the center of town.

In pop culture

Governments often want more people to take the bus, so that there are fewer cars on the road. This ad tells people that it’s better to travel in groups, so they should take the bus. In the ad, the ants work as a group to stop an anteater. Do you like the ad? Does it make you want to take the bus?

There are other meanings of take.