Meaning & use
take home messages
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Meaning
phraseplural
the main points that people should remember from a talk, report, or event
Grammar: Usually plural; the singular 'take-home message' is used for one key point.
Patterns
- the take-home messages of something
- the take-home message from something
The take-home messages from the conference were clear: act early and involve the whole team.
Let me summarize the take-home messages before we finish.
The report's take-home message is that costs must come down.
Word forms
| singular | take-home message |
|---|
Common combinations
- key take-home messages
- The slides ended with three key take-home messages.
- summarize the take-home messages
- She summarized the take-home messages in one slide.
- the take-home message from the study
- The take-home message from the study is that sleep matters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- key points
- Key points is more general and can be a list; take-home messages emphasizes what the audience should carry away.
- conclusions
- Conclusions are the end results of reasoning; take-home messages are the practical things to remember.
Word family
- takeaway noun
- a main point or idea to remember, especially in British English
Commonly confused: take home messages or takeout?
take home messages vs takeout
Takeout means food you buy to eat elsewhere; take-home messages are ideas to remember.
Practice
At the end of the workshop, the trainer repeated the ______ so everyone would remember them.
Choose one answer.
The plural 'take-home messages' fits because there are several points. The singular would need 'it' not 'them', and the other forms are not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “take home messages”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.