Meaning & use
take in
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Meanings
verbphrasal verb
To trick someone into believing something false, so that they are fooled.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually a person, and is often passive: she was taken in.
Patterns
- take someone in
- be taken in by someone/something
Don't be taken in by his friendly manner; he wants your money.
The fake website took in hundreds of shoppers.
She was completely taken in by the clever advertisement.
verbphrasal verb
To let someone stay in your home, especially someone with nowhere else to go.
Grammar: Takes an object, which can come before or after in: take in a stray, take a stray in.
Patterns
- take someone in
- take in something
The family took in a stray cat during the winter.
After the flood, neighbors took in the families who had lost their homes.
They took her in when she had nowhere to live.
verbphrasal verb
To understand or absorb what you see, hear or read, especially a lot of information at once.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with all: take in the view, take it all in.
Patterns
- take in something
- take it all in
I couldn't take in all the instructions at once.
She paused at the top of the hill to take in the view.
The news was so shocking that it took a while to take it in.
verbphrasal verb
To make a piece of clothing narrower or smaller by sewing it.
Grammar: Takes an object: take in a dress, take a dress in.
Patterns
- take something in
The tailor will take in the waist of these trousers.
I've lost weight, so I need to have my jacket taken in.
verbphrasal verb
To include or contain something, or to receive money or visitors.
Grammar: Takes an object: the tour takes in three cities.
Patterns
- take in something
The walking route takes in two villages and a castle.
The shop takes in about two thousand dollars on a good Saturday.
Word forms
| third person singular | takes in |
|---|---|
| past tense | took in |
| past participle | taken in |
| -ing form | taking in |
Common combinations
- take in the view
- We stopped at the lookout to take in the view.
- be taken in by
- Many people were taken in by the scam.
- take in a stray
- They decided to take in a stray dog.
- take in the news
- It took her a moment to take in the news.
- take in a dress
- Can you take in this dress at the sides?
- take in a show
- We took in a show before dinner.
Synonyms and how they differ
- deceive
- Deceive is a stronger, more formal word for lying to someone, while take in often stresses that the victim was fooled easily.
- absorb
- Absorb suggests soaking up information deeply, whereas take in often means just noticing or beginning to grasp it.
- fool
- Fool is more casual and can be a harmless joke, while take in usually suggests a more serious deception.
- shelter
- Shelter stresses protecting someone from danger, while take in just says you let them stay.
Opposites
Word family
- intake noun
- the amount taken in, such as food or students
- taken in adjective
- fooled by a trick, as in she felt taken in
Commonly confused: take in or take on? take in or take up?
take in vs take on
Take on means to accept a task or hire someone, rather than to fool or shelter someone.
take in vs take up
Take up usually means to start an activity or occupy space, rather than to absorb information.
Practice
She was completely ______ by the stranger's story about a lost wallet.
Choose one answer.
Be taken in by means to be fooled by something. Taken over means someone else has control, which does not fit a story that misleads her.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “take in”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.