take-up

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   the rate or number of people who accept or start using something that is offered

   Grammar: Uncountable: talk about high or low take-up, not 'a take-up'.

   Patterns

   • take-up of something
   • high/low/poor take-up
   • take-up rates

   Take-up of the new savings plan has been slow among younger workers.

   The government was disappointed by the low take-up of free health checks.

   Universities reported strong take-up for the online courses.

2. 2noununcountable

   the act of accepting an offer or taking something that is available

   Grammar: Often used after verbs like encourage or boost: encourage take-up of the service.

   Patterns

   • encourage take-up
   • boost take-up

   The charity is trying to encourage take-up among older residents.

   A simple application form can boost take-up considerably.

Common combinations

low take-up

Low take-up of the vouchers meant many were left unused.

take-up rate

The take-up rate for the training program reached 70 percent.

encourage take-up

Advertisers hope to encourage take-up of the premium service.

take-up of something

Take-up of the vaccine was highest in rural areas.

Synonyms and how they differ

uptake

Uptake is the more common form in everyday and medical English; take-up is the usual form in business and policy writing.

participation

Participation focuses on people joining an activity, while take-up focuses on accepting an offer or service.

enrollment

Enrollment is mainly used for courses and schools; take-up is wider, covering benefits, services, and products.

Opposites

Word family

take up phrasal verb

to start doing an activity or accept an offer

uptake noun

the act of taking something in, especially in biology or medicine

Commonly confused: take-up or uptake? take-up or takeout?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “take-up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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