Meaning & use
taking
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableold-fashioned
Charming and likely to win people's affection at once.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: a taking smile.
Patterns
- a taking smile
- a taking manner
The young actor had a taking way about him.
She gave the visitors a taking smile.
The puppy's taking manner won over the whole family.
nounusually pluralBritish
Money received by a business from sales, usually counted over a day or other period.
Grammar: Almost always takings: the day's takings.
Patterns
- the day's takings
- takings from something
The shop owner counted the day's takings before closing.
Takings at the cafe fell during the rainy week.
The festival's takings were donated to the hospital.
noununcountableformal
The act of seizing or capturing something.
Grammar: Often followed by of: the taking of the fort.
Patterns
- the taking of something
The taking of the hill ended the siege.
The law forbids the taking of wild eggs from nests.
His taking of her book without asking caused a quarrel.
Word forms
| comparative | more taking |
|---|---|
| superlative | most taking |
Common combinations
- taking smile
- His taking smile put the guests at ease.
- taking ways
- The child had taking ways that charmed everyone.
- day's takings
- The day's takings were locked in the safe.
- takings fell
- Takings fell sharply after the road closed.
- the taking of
- The taking of the castle took three days.
Synonyms and how they differ
- charming
- Charming is the normal modern word, while taking sounds dated and slightly literary.
- engaging
- Engaging stresses holding attention, whereas taking stresses winning affection quickly.
- winning
- Winning is close in meaning and also used before nouns like smile, but it is more common today.
Opposites
Word family
- take verb
- the base verb
- takings noun
- money received from sales
- takeover noun
- the act of taking control
Commonly confused: taking or taking (verb form)?
taking vs taking (verb form)
Most uses of taking today are just the -ing form of the verb take, as in taking a bus, not these special meanings.
Practice
The boy's ___ smile made even the strict teacher grin back.
Choose one answer.
Taking is an adjective meaning charming, and it fits before the noun smile. Taken and took are verb forms that do not work here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “taking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.