TOOK UP Synonyms: 103 Similar and Opposite Words

took up

verb

past tense of take up

as in lifted

to move from a lower to a higher place or position please take up the blanket so I can look underneath it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in drank

to take in (something liquid) through small openings the soil was so dry that the plant seemed to take up the much-needed water instantly

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in borrowed

to take for one's own use (something originated by another) one cluster of fans started chanting the team name of the champions, and the crowd quickly took up the cry

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of took up Officials did not give a breakdown of how many were deported and how many took up offers of voluntary repatriation. — Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026 Chekhov took up position beside a section of the wall still standing, keeping well within its shadow. — Vasily Grossman, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026 In 1979, Jean-Louis Palladin arrived in Washington from Gascony, France, took up residence in the kitchen of the Watergate Hotel and proceeded to embarrass every serious cook in America. — Bart Hutchins, Washington Post, 12 June 2026 On June 9, 1846, American immigrants near Sonoma took up arms and captured a number of members of the Mexican military and their horses. — Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 12 June 2026 Six took up redistricting voluntarily, one was required to by its state constitution and another did so under court order. — David A. Lieb, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026 The board took up Chapman’s previous offer to reduce her hours and forgo her benefits next year. — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 8 May 2026 The Supreme Judicial Court took up the case, and is now weighing the lawsuit after hearing arguments from both sides last month. — Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 8 May 2026 Though the back-and-forth between council, city staff and developers took up much of the hearing, over a dozen citizens chimed in. — Matthew Geiger, Denver Post, 1 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for took up

Verb

For example, experts estimate that some 2 million buildings in Florida will need to be lifted to avoid frequent flood damage, but so far, little has happened, and federal grants are being delayed.

— Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
Trend-right product across the portfolio lifted Steve Madden‘s second quarter earnings, and things are looking up for the rest of the year.

— Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 30 July 2026

Definition of lifted

Verb

The company behind the beer Sam Adams told NBC Boston its Boston Taproom ran out of Samuel Adams Boston Lager one weekend because of the Tartan Army, which drank four times as much beer as is consumed on a typical four-day weekend.

— Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 19 July 2026
Instead, James drank wine, entertained recruiting pitches and served up a whole lot of nothing.

— Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of drank

Verb

Now, researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have borrowed a trick from bridge engineering to keep these ocean giants standing.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026
Executives may mistake the absence of obvious consequences for proof that their system is working, when in fact, today’s performance is often borrowed from tomorrow’s decline.

— Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of borrowed

Verb

Multiple people familiar with the matter said the crown prince raised concerns about plans for potential strikes on Iran during the call.

— Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
The union has also raised questions about Cázares' role as fiscal advisor, pointing to her previous work overseeing other financially troubled school districts and questioning her compensation.

— Richard Ramos, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of raised

Verb

Flores absorbed the method in Tambo Mayo, a village along the Ucayali River in northeastern Peru where she was born in 1950.

— Gabriella Angeleti, The New York Review of Books, 1 Aug. 2026
Quickly stir until most of the flour is absorbed, then cook, stirring vigorously and breaking up pockets of dry flour as needed, until a thin film forms on bottom and sides of pan and dough comes together into a single mass, 2–3 minutes.

— Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of absorbed

Verb

Forty-seven institutions have now adopted formal policies of institutional neutrality modeled after the University of Chicago's Kalven Report.

— Scott White, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
The Judicial Council recently adopted the reporting requirement and is developing a public dashboard expected to launch next month.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of adopted

Verb

Instead of simply reclining backward, the seat moves forward and up, so your legs and back are slightly elevated in a more comfortable position.

— Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Aug. 2026
Even something as simple as seeing avocado prepared in an unfamiliar way showed him that what his own family already did well could still be elevated through a different perspective.

— Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026