English

Verb

take away ‎(third-person singular simple present takes away, present participle taking away, simple past took away, past participle taken away)

1. To remove something and put it in a different place.

   Mother took our plates away and came back with some fruit for us to eat.‎

2. To remove something, either material or abstract, so that a person no longer has it.

   The teacher took my mobile phone away until the end of the lesson.‎

   The new law will take away some important rights from immigrant residents.‎

   The doctor gave me pills to take away the pain.‎

3. To subtract or diminish something.

   If I have five apples and you take away two, how many do I have left?‎

   • 2011 January 22, Ian Hughes, “Arsenal 3 - 0 Wigan”, in BBC:

     But take nothing away from Arsenal, who were driven on by the brilliance of Van Persie and Fabregas and only prevented from being out of sight at half-time by the feats of Al Habsi.

4. To leave a memory or impression in one's mind that you think about later.

   I took away the impression that the play was under rehearsed.‎

5. (of a person) To make someone leave a place and go somewhere else. Usually not with the person's consent.

   The police took him away for questioning.‎

   I'm taking you away to the country for a rest. It's for your own good!‎

6. (of a person) To prevent, or limit, someone from being somewhere, or from doing something.

   My job takes me away from home most weekends.‎

   Using the internet so much can take you away from your studies.‎

Usage notes

All senses are transitive and the object may appear before or after the particle. If the object is a pronoun, then it must be before the particle.

Synonyms

• (To remove something, either material or abstract, so that a person no longer has it.): deprive, divest, dispossess, fortake, strip

See also

• take away from
• take-away
• takeaway

Translations

Preposition

take away

1. minus

   Five take away two is three.

See also

• takeaway